Pakistan mosque explosion kills 29
Source: Agencies |
February 19, 2010, Friday
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A BOMB blast at a mosque in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt killed 29 people yesterday, underscoring the relentless security threat in the nation even as Pakistan-United States cooperation against extremism appears on the upswing.
The attack in Khyber tribal region came as US special envoy Richard Holbrooke met Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad, the capital.
It also followed revelations that Pakistani authorities have been picking up Afghan Taliban leaders on their soil, and as the US continued a campaign of missile strikes against suspected militants in Pakistan.
The explosion tore through a mosque in the Aka Khel area of Khyber, killing at least 29 people and wounding about 50 others, local official Jawed Khan said. Earlier reports had said the blast occurred in the Orakzai area at a cattle market.
The two areas border one another, and the market is near the mosque.
Officials were investigating whether the blast was caused by a suicide bomber or a planted device.
No group claimed responsibility, but Khan said the dead included militants from Lashkar-e-Islam, an insurgent group in Khyber that has clashed with another militant outfit known as Ansarul Islam.
Earlier this week, officials confirmed that a joint CIA-Pakistani security operation had captured the No. 2 Afghan Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.
Yesterday, an Afghan official told The Associated Press that about the same time - some two weeks ago - two Taliban leaders from northern Afghanistan were also arrested in Pakistan by Pakistani authorities.
Also yesterday, officials said up to nine al-Qaida-linked militants were arrested in a series of raids overnight on Wednesday in Karachi.
The US and Pakistan have said little on the record about the arrests, but they could signal a shift in Pakistani policy.
The arrests could mean that Pakistan has decided to turn on the Afghan Taliban.
Gilani urged Holbrooke to see if the US could fast-track humanitarian aid efforts.
The US has pledged US$7.5 billion in aid to Pakistan over five years.
Talking with reporters in Kabul on Wednesday, Holbrooke said the US was restructuring the way it gave aid and would consult more with Pakistan and pursue more visible projects.
"It is very, very time consuming work because of the huge, long lead times of contracts, because of the congressional role," he said.
Meanwhile, two Pakistani intelligence officials said yesterday a suspected US missile strike on a house in the North Waziristan tribal area killed at least three people.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The CIA has stepped up a campaign of missile strikes from unmanned planes that have killed dozens of suspected militants in recent months.
The attack in Khyber tribal region came as US special envoy Richard Holbrooke met Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad, the capital.
It also followed revelations that Pakistani authorities have been picking up Afghan Taliban leaders on their soil, and as the US continued a campaign of missile strikes against suspected militants in Pakistan.
The explosion tore through a mosque in the Aka Khel area of Khyber, killing at least 29 people and wounding about 50 others, local official Jawed Khan said. Earlier reports had said the blast occurred in the Orakzai area at a cattle market.
The two areas border one another, and the market is near the mosque.
Officials were investigating whether the blast was caused by a suicide bomber or a planted device.
No group claimed responsibility, but Khan said the dead included militants from Lashkar-e-Islam, an insurgent group in Khyber that has clashed with another militant outfit known as Ansarul Islam.
Earlier this week, officials confirmed that a joint CIA-Pakistani security operation had captured the No. 2 Afghan Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.
Yesterday, an Afghan official told The Associated Press that about the same time - some two weeks ago - two Taliban leaders from northern Afghanistan were also arrested in Pakistan by Pakistani authorities.
Also yesterday, officials said up to nine al-Qaida-linked militants were arrested in a series of raids overnight on Wednesday in Karachi.
The US and Pakistan have said little on the record about the arrests, but they could signal a shift in Pakistani policy.
The arrests could mean that Pakistan has decided to turn on the Afghan Taliban.
Gilani urged Holbrooke to see if the US could fast-track humanitarian aid efforts.
The US has pledged US$7.5 billion in aid to Pakistan over five years.
Talking with reporters in Kabul on Wednesday, Holbrooke said the US was restructuring the way it gave aid and would consult more with Pakistan and pursue more visible projects.
"It is very, very time consuming work because of the huge, long lead times of contracts, because of the congressional role," he said.
Meanwhile, two Pakistani intelligence officials said yesterday a suspected US missile strike on a house in the North Waziristan tribal area killed at least three people.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The CIA has stepped up a campaign of missile strikes from unmanned planes that have killed dozens of suspected militants in recent months.
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