Pakistan's Descent into Chaos: Terrorist & Drone Attacks

[Pintu]

http://arabnews.com/world/article90877.ece

Eight die in blast near minister's home in Pakistan

A man injured in a suicide bomb attack arrives at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar on Monday. (Reuters)



By FARIS ALI | REUTERS

Published: Jul 26, 2010 22:45 Updated: Jul 26, 2010 22:45

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed at least eight people and wounded 20 in a blast near the house of a provincial minister who has repeatedly spoken out against the Taleban, police said on Monday.

The Taleban said they were behind the explosion in Pabbi town, 25 km east of the provincial capital, Peshawar, which came two days after suspected militants shot dead minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain's only son.

The Taleban claimed responsibility for the bombing, warning of more violence to come. "We have reports of eight dead, including two policemen," Jahangir Khan, a police official, told Reuters.

Police said the bomber was targeting Hussain and guests who had gone to his house to offer condolences over his son's death. "He was a young boy. He was trying to cross the check post but when our policemen caught him, he exploded himself," senior police officer Liaquat Ali said of the bomber.

Ali told reporters that Hussain, a member of the Awami Nationalist Party (ANP) which opposed militancy in the province, had received threats from the Taleban.

While claiming responsibility for the attack, a Taleban spokesman warned that other members of the ANP, which is the ruling party in the province, would also be targeted.

"It's just beginning. We'll target them because they are friends of Americans and they have to pay for it," Taleban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Militants linked to Al-Qaeda have carried out a wave of attacks across Pakistan in recent months despite losing ground in military offensives in the northwest.

Pakistan has faced an insurgency by Islamist groups who oppose Islamabad's support for Washington's fight against militancy and want to impose harsh, Taleban-style rule in the nuclear-armed Muslim country.

The United States wants Pakistan to crush the insurgency and help it stabilize neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan launched military operations against militants in strongholds in the northwestern Swat Valley and tribal lands last year.

 

[ajtr]

FC Commandant Sifwat Ghayur killed in Peshawar blast​

Updated at: 1640 PST, Wednesday, August 04, 2010 ShareThis story

PESHAWAR: Commandant FC Sifwat Ghayur along with at least four guards has been killed in a powerful suicide blast in Peshawar area of Saddar, Geo News quoted SP Cantt Wednesday.

The SP Cantonment said the suicide bomber targeted the FC vehicle, adding the injured have been shifted to LRH.

The blast occurred at Deens Chowk, a usually crowded commercial spot. The blast damaged at least three vehicles including one FC's vehicle carrying Sifwat Ghayur, FC's Commandant.

The FC Headquarters is situated near the blast site.

The Bomb Disposal Squad, police and other law enforcement agencies approached the area before long and put a security cordon around the blast site.

The firefighters are busy with efforts putting out the fire that encompassed the vehicles after the blast.

 

[ajtr]

Gunmen kill 10 in Pakistan bus attack
(AFP) – 4 hours ago
QUETTA, Pakistan — Gunmen attacked a passenger bus and shot dead at least 10 people in insurgency-hit southwest Pakistan, officials said on Saturday.
The incident took place in Aab-e-Gum area, 75 kilometres (47 miles) southeast of Quetta, the capital of oil and gas rich Baluchistan province, on Friday night.
"A group of 30-35 gunmen stopped the bus in Aab-e-Gum area, off-loaded passengers at gunpoint and shot dead 10 of them," top provincial home department official Akbar Hussain Durrani told AFP.
He said the bus was travelling to Quetta from the eastern city of Lahore and all those killed in the attack were Punjabi-speaking people.
A senior local official in Aab-e-Gum area, Ismail Kurd, also confirmed the incident and casualties.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Violence has recently surged in Baluchistan which borders both Afghanistan and Iran.
US-based charity Mercy Corps in June shut 40 of its offices in Baluchistan and four in neighbouring Sindh, citing serious security concerns following the killing of one of its drivers.
Three Mercy Corps aid workers and their driver were kidnapped in February in Qila Saifullah district, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of Quetta.
The driver was killed but the aid workers were released in July in good health after a five-month ordeal following negotiations between their kidnappers and tribal elders.
An official said at the time they were kidnapped by a criminal gang.
The province is rife with Islamist militancy, sectarian violence between majority Sunnis and minority Shiite Muslims and regional insurgency.
Baluch rebels rose up in 2004 demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's wealth of natural resources, including oil and gas. Hundreds of people have died since then.

 

[ajtr]

US drone strike kills 13 in Pakistan​

By Hasbanullh Khan (AFP) – 3 hours ago
August 14, 2010 -- Updated 2053 GMT (0453 HKT)

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan — A US missile strike on a militant compound in Pakistan's tribal district on the Afghan border killed 13 rebels and wounded five others on Saturday, local security officials said.
The strike took place in the village of Essori, 20 kilometres (13 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district, known as a hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.
"One missile fired from a US drone struck a militant compound in the village killing at least 13 rebels, many among them foreigners," a senior Pakistani security official in the area told AFP on condition of anonymity.
He said five other militants were wounded.
A local tribesman owned the compound and the strike occurred during special Ramadan prayers, called Taraweehi, he added.
Another security official confirmed the strike and casualties but cautioned that the nationalities of the dead were not yet known.
"It is also not yet clear if there was any high value target present in the area at the time of attack," he added.
Militants sealed off the village and forced residents to stay in their houses after the attack, another security official told AFP.
US forces have been waging a covert drone war against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked commanders in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, where militants have carved out havens in mountains outside direct government control.
Washington has branded the rugged tribal area on the Afghan border a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth.
The US military does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.
Nearly 1,000 people have been killed in more than 110 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants. However, the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim country.
The United States has been increasing pressure on Pakistan to crack down on Islamist havens along the border.
Pakistani commanders have not ruled out an offensive in North Waziristan, but argue that gains in South Waziristan and the northwestern district of Swat need to be consolidated to prevent their troops from becoming over-stretched.
Waziristan came under renewed scrutiny when Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American charged over an attempted bombing in New York on May 1, allegedly told US interrogators he went to the region for terrorist training.
Al-Qaeda announced in June that its number three leader and Osama bin Laden's one-time treasurer Mustafa Abu al-Yazid had been killed in what security officials said appeared to be a drone strike in North Waziristan.

 

[ajtr]

IB, FC official gunned down near Mastung

Staff Report

QUETTA: Two officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Frontier Corps (FC) respectively were shot dead on the RCD Highway near Mastung, around 50 kilometres from Quetta, on Thursday.

According to official sources, IB Inspector Abdullah and FC official Zahid Hussain were travelling to the FC camp in Mastung when unidentified armed motorcyclists intercepted them and opened indiscriminate firing. As a result, both of the officials died on the spot while the assailants managed to flee.

Police and other law enforcement agencies reached the spot and shifted the bodies to a nearby hospital for autopsy. The area was cordoned off and a search operation was started to arrest the killers of the officials.

According to a senior police official, it was an incident of target killing and police have started investigation. No terrorist organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing of the IB and FC officials.

 

[ajtr]

FC convoy hits IED, 3 injured

Staff Report

QUETTA: Three Frontier Crops (FC) personnel suffered injuries when one of the force's vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) near Turbat on Thursday morning.

According to sources, a FC convoy coming from Gwadar hit an IED which was planted in Danuk area, some five kilometres from Turbat. The blast injured three personnel. They were rushed to a hospital in Turbat and were stated to be in stable condition. The injured have been identified as Asghar, Ayub and Azam.

Banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) spokesman Sarbaz Baloch claimed the group had carried out the attack. He further claimed that eight FC personnel were killed in the attack and said it was in retaliation to the killing of Sardar Nadir Gichki, who he said was the father of BLA commander Mir Beberg Baloch.

 

[ajtr]

12 injured in Bannu blast

BANNU: A powerful blast ripped through Preety Gate area in Bannu on Thursday injuring 12 people, four of them critically.

The blast occurred at 9:30am when an unidentified man left a shopping bag at Preety Gate, which blew up and injured 12 people while the suspect managed to flee. The injured were rushed to the nearby District Headquarters Hospital where an emergency was declared. app

 

[ajtr]

Two injured in Green Town bomb blast​

* Blast took place inside Khaki Shah shrine

* Middle-aged man shot dead at his home by unidentified assailant

Staff Report

LAHORE: Two people received minor injuries when a bomb went off near Khaki Shah Darbar in the precincts of the Green Town police on Thursday.

The low-intensity blast occurred at around 9:15pm in the shrine of Khaki Shah. Local police, Rescue 1122 and Edhi Foundation volunteers rushed to the spot and started rescue operations.

The injured were shifted to Jinnah Hospital and were discharged after being given first-aid. Green Town Station House Officer Raja Muzammil said that the blast had shattered windowpanes and damaged a part of the shrine.

It had caused panic among visitors and locals, and a large number of people gathered on the spot. Following the blast, local police launched a search operation to arrest the suspected perpetrators. No arrest had been made by the time this report was filed.

Shot: A 35-year-old man was shot dead by an unidentified person in the limits of the Chuhng police on Thursday.

The deceased was identified as Muhammad Tanveer, resident of Shahpur Kanjara. Police said that the victim had been in his house when an unidentified biker had arrived and had asked the victim's nephew, Waqas, to call his uncle outside.

When Tanveer came out of the house, the biker fired four shots at him and escaped. Tanveer was shifted to a nearby hospital where he died. Police shifted the body to the city morgue for autopsy and lodged a murder case against the unidentified assailant.

A 26-year-old man was burnt to death due to a gas leakage in the precincts of the Misri Shah police on Thursday.

The deceased was identified as Muneer, resident of Pak Nagar. Police said that the victim had turned on an electric motor, which had ignited leaked gas.

The victim received multiple burns and his family rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

 

[ajtr]

Blast kills six anti-Taliban fighters in Mohmand​

Saturday, 21 Aug, 2010

PESHAWAR: A bomb blast killed six anti-Taliban militia fighters in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt on Saturday and wounded five others, officials said.

The remote controlled attack hit a checkpoint manned by volunteers from an anti-Taliban militia in Mohmand, a tribal district close to the Afghan border and some 80 kilometres from Peshawar, an official said.

"It was a remote control bomb, six volunteers of anti-Taliban peace committee have been killed and five wounded," Maqsud Hasan, a senior government official in Mohmand told AFP by telephone.

Javed Khan, another administrative official in the area, also confirmed the incident.

Authorities are providing arms and money to anti-Taliban militias — which are also called peace committees.

On Wednesday, dozens of armed militants attacked a mosque and a police checkpoint in Peshawar, killing two anti-Taliban fighters, police said.

 

[ajtr]

US drone strike kills four militants in Miranshah​

Saturday, 21 Aug, 2010

MIRANSHAH: Four militants were killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt on Saturday, security officials said.

The missiles targeted a compound used by militants in Kutabkhel village, some three kilometres south of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district, a security official based in Peshawar told AFP.

"A US drone fired four missiles. They targeted a compound and also a car outside the compound," the official said.

The drone strike was also confirmed by two intelligence officials in Miranshah.

"Four militants have been killed in this attack," one of the intelligence official told AFP.

"The strike took place just before Azan (call for the Ramadan prayer),"said the official.

Residents in Miranshah said that militants surrounded the site after the attack.

Security officials said that those killed in the strike were local militants, and they were checking whether there were any "high-value targets" among the dead.

US forces have been waging a covert drone war against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked commanders in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, where militants have carved out havens in mountains outside direct government control.

Washington has branded the rugged tribal area on the Afghan border – part of which has now been hit by Pakistan's catastrophic flooding – a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth.

The US military does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilot-less drones in the region.

Nearly 1,000 people have been killed in more than 110 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants. However, the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim country.

The United States has been increasing pressure on Pakistan to crack down on Islamist havens along the border.

Pakistani commanders have not ruled out an offensive in North Waziristan, but argue that gains in South Waziristan and the northwestern district of Swat need to be consolidated to prevent their troops from becoming overstretched.

Waziristan came under renewed scrutiny when Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American charged over an attempted bombing in New York on May 1, allegedly told US interrogators he went to the region for terrorist training.

Al-Qaeda announced in June that its number three leader and Osama bin Laden's one-time treasurer Mustafa Abu al-Yazid had been killed in what security officials said appeared to be a drone strike in North Waziristan. – AFP

 

[ajtr]

Blast in Kurram Agency, seven killed​

Monday, 23 Aug, 2010

PARACHINAR: A bomb exploded at a meeting of tribal elders in Kurram region near the Afghan border on Monday, killing seven people, a government official said.

"We have reports that it happened in a jirga. The death toll could be higher," the official, Naeemullah Jan, told Reuters.

Taliban insurgents have waged a bombing campaign across the northwest region and in the heartland, stoking concern about the stability of the US ally.

The Taliban have in recent weeks kept a low profile as millions of people struggle with the country's worst floods in memory. – Reuters

 

[ajtr]

30 killed, 40 injured in suicide blast in NW Pakistan​

English.news.cn 2010-08-23 18:51:01 FeedbackPrintRSS
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 30 people were killed and 40 others injured in a suicide blast which took place Monday afternoon near a mosque in Wana Bazaar of South Waziristan in northwest Pakistan, reported local media Express.

According to the report, the blast took place at the main gate of Mulana Noor Muhammad Mosque in where there were reportedly more than 100 people offering prayers inside.

Shortly after the blast, the police have cordoned off the area and rescue work is now underway. The injured people have been shifted to different hospitals.

This is the third blast reported Monday in Pakistan.

Earlier Monday, a blast took place in Pakistan's northwest Khyber tribal agency, injuring seven security troops near a mosque in Bara. This was shortly followed by a remote-controlled explosion in adjoining Kurram tribal agency, killing at least eight people and injuring several others.

The second blast took place in Khomta, a central town in Kurram, when a tribal meeting was being held to resolve dispute over primary school issue.

 

[ajtr]

U.S. drone strike kills 20 people in Pakistan​

MIRANSHAH | Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:41pm IST
Pakistan (Reuters) - Missiles fired from a U.S. pilotless drone aircraft killed 13 militants and 7 civilians in Pakistan's North Waziristan on Monday, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

They said the missiles were fired at a militant hideout. Most of the militants killed were members of the Afghan Taliban. Four women and three children were among the dead, said the officials.

"The missiles hit a militant compound and a house adjacent to it. We have confirmed reports of 20 dead," said one of the intelligence officials.

Another official said members of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network -- one of the most effective militant forces fighting Western troops in Afghanistan -- had been using the compound.

The United States has been pressing ally Pakistan to crack down hard on Afghan Taliban militants who cross the border to Afghanistan to attack U.S.-led NATO forces.

U.S. officials say the drones are a highly effective weapon against militant groups. But civilian casualties in the strikes have angered Pakistanis.

(Reporting by Haji Mujtaba and Kamran Haider)

(Writing by Michael Georgy; editing by Ralph Boulton)

 

[ajtr]

One killed as militants attack security posts in Bajaur
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
KHAR: A paramilitary soldier was killed on Monday after dozens of militants attacked security checkposts in Siddiqabad and Bilalabad areas of Bajaur Agency with rockets and mortars. The residential areas of Siddiqabad and Bilalabad are located three kilometres from the agency headquarters Khar. Exchange of fire between the security forces and militants continued for sometime. The attackers fled after the security forces returned fire. The militants also set fire to a WAPDA vehicle on Nawagai-Khar road. It was the first major attack in the area by militants on security forces in the past two years. staff report

 

[ajtr]

Child killed in Panjgur grenade attack

QUETTA: A child was killed and five others, including two women, were injured in a grenade attack at the residence of a settler in Panjgur on Thursday. According to official sources, unidentified assailants on a motorcycle hurled a hand grenade at Abdul Karim's house, which landed in the courtyard of the house. As a result, five-year-old Umer received multiple wounds and died on the spot, while Abdul Karim, Khan Bibi, Hikmat Bibi, Bawar Jamali were injured. Police rushed to the spot immediately after the incident and cordoned off the area. The deceased and injured were taken to a nearby government-run hospital. Police registered a case against the unidentified men and started investigations. Meanwhile, two people, including a woman, had been injured in an explosion on Hospital Road of Khuzdar district, some 300 kilometres from Quetta. Police sources said unidentified persons placed an explosive device along the roadside that exploded injuring two passers-by. The injured were taken to the Divisional Headquarters Hospital, Khuzdar where they were identified as Ruqqaiya and Qasim. The condition of both the injured is stated to be stable. Separately, a PTCL cabinet was set ablaze in Awaran district, disrupting telecommunication system of the entire district. staff report

 

[ajtr]

One killed in Mansehra bomb blast
Friday, 27 Aug, 2010

PESHAWAR: A bomb blast at a restaurant in the northwestern town of Mansehra killed one person Friday, local police chief Mohammed Sajjad said.

He said the police were investigating who planted the bomb and why.

 

[ajtr]

US drone strike kills four militants in Pakistan

Saturday, 28 Aug, 2010

PESHAWAR: A US drone strike Saturday killed four militants in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border, security officials said.
The strike hit Shahidano village in the violence-wracked Kurram tribal district, 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Peshawar.

"Four militants have been killed in this drone attack," a security official in Peshawar told AFP by telephone.

Another security official in Peshawar said the US drone fired four missiles, hitting two vehicles near a house.

"All those killed were militants of Tehreek-e-Taliban," the official said.

US drones have mostly targeted North and South Waziristan tribal districts, known hubs for Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.

Kurram is the neighbouring tribal district of Orakzai, the home town of Hakimullah Mehsud, Pakistan's Taliban chief who escaped a US missile attack on January 14 in North Waziristan.

Officials said militants were crossing in two vehicles from Orakzai to Kurram but were hit when they stopped in front of a house.

Both the vehicles were destroyed in the attack, officials said.

Kurram tribal district has for three years been a flashpoint for violence between Shiite and Sunni communities.

US forces have been waging a drone war against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked commanders in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, where militants have carved out havens in mountains outside direct government control.

Washington has branded the rugged tribal area on the Afghan border -- part of which has now been hit by Pakistan's catastrophic flooding -- a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth.

The US military does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in over 100 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants. However, the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim country.

The United States has been increasing pressure on Pakistan to crack down on Islamist havens along the border.

Pakistani commanders have not ruled out an offensive in North Waziristan, but argue that gains in South Waziristan and the northwestern district of Swat need to be consolidated to prevent their troops from becoming overstretched.

Waziristan came under renewed scrutiny when Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American charged over an attempted bombing in New York on May 1, allegedly told US interrogators he went to the region for terrorist training.

Al-Qaeda announced in June that its number three leader and Osama bin Laden's one-time treasurer Mustafa Abu al-Yazid had been killed in what security officials said appeared to be a drone strike in North Waziristan. – AFP

 

[nithyarjun43]

Ummah urged to stand united against anti-Islam forces
Published: August 29, 2010

LAHORE - The protest demonstrations were held in various cities including the provincial metropolis against the announcement of burning the Holy Quran by American Church and the incident of making caricatures of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
A statement issued by the Jamat-ud-Dawa stated that the protests were held in various areas of Lahore including Darogha Wala, Shad Bagh, Begum Kot, Town Ship, and at Karachi, Jhang and other cities.
Hundreds of people participated in protests and condemned the church' announcement besides they held banners and placards carrying slogans against the US and western governments.
The speakers on the occasion said that Muslims would not tolerate such shameful acts and they would not sit silent against such shocking incidents. They at the same time demanded of the government to send the shut up calls to the responsible and put ban on the products of those countries whose citizens were involved in such acts.
They asked the Ummah to be united and stand above sectarianism, as this was the only solution to end the notorious propaganda against Islam.

 

[Solid Beast]

Explosion strikes near police mobile in Peshawar

Friday, 03 Sep, 2010

Police official Shafiullah Khan said the bomb was detonated by remote control Friday as officers patrolled on Ring Road in Peshawar's Achini Bala area on Friday, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where floods have affected millions of people in recent weeks. – AP

 

[Solid Beast]

Attack on Ahmedi worship place in Mardan kills one

Friday, 03 Sep, 2010

PESHAWAR: A suicide attack on an Ahmedi worship place killed at least one person and wounded several others in northwest Pakistan on Friday, police said.

Police official Ahsanullah Khan said the bomber in Friday's attack appeared to have detonated himself after he was prevented from entering the worship place in the town of Mardan.