Drone strike kills 20 people in N Waziristan

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

MIRANSHAH:

Missiles fired from a US drone killed 13 alleged Taliban fighters and seven civilians in North Waziristan on Monday, intelligence officials said. The strike hit the Dandey Darpa Khel area, about five kilometres from Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

The officials said the missiles were fired at a terrorist hideout. Most of the killed were alleged members of the Afghan Taliban. Four women and three children were among the dead, said the officials. “The missiles hit a terrorist 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. agencies

Ex-MNA among 26 killed in Wana blast

* Maulana Noor Muhammad was delivering sermon in a mosque when a suicide bomber struck

* 40 injured in attack

* No group has claimed responsibility

The Daily Times, Pakistan, August 24, 2010

By Hafizullah Wazir

WANA:

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in Wana on Monday killing 26 people, including a former member of the National Assembly.

Pro-government cleric Maulana Noor Muhammad was delivering a sermon in the area’s biggest mosque when the attack occurred.

“Maulvi Noor Muhammad was among the 26 killed in the suicide attack inside his madrassa adjacent to his mosque,” Wana assistant political agent, Jamal Azmat told Daily Times.

Syed Noor, a nephew of the cleric, confirmed that his uncle had been killed.

Eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber blew himself up as Noor finished preaching at 3pm inside the mosque, killing 26 people and injuring over 40 others.

Jamal said an emergency had been declared in all hospitals of Wana, where 40 wounded were being treated. “Some of the wounded people are in critical condition,” he said.

A health official in a paramilitary hospital in Wana also said the condition of most of the wounded was critical.

The mosque was badly damaged in the blast, where local residents were busy trying to recover people from the rubble amid fears that the death toll could rise further.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. However, ‘foreign elements’ who were earlier forced out of the area are believed to be behind the attack.

Noor was opposed to the presence of Uzbek militants and had provided support to dislodge them.

Slain Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mehsud had allowed the “displaced Uzbek militants” to stay in Mehsud areas, which triggered a strong reaction from the tribesmen from the Ahmedzai Wazir areas.

The former MNA had also played his role in brokering a peace deal in the past. The cleric was associated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal.
          

Bomb kills seven at tribal elders’ meeting in Kurram

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

PARACHINAR:

A bomb blast at a meeting of tribal elders in Kurram Agency on Monday killed seven people. “Seven people have been killed in a landmine blast,” said area administrator Syed Musaddiq Shah. He said the blast took place in Khumas village about 10 kilometres east of Parachinar.

He said it was unclear whether the blast was an intended attack or whether the ordinance had exploded accidentally. Another administration official said seven people were injured in the blast, which occurred during a jirga between two tribes.

The tribesmen were gathered to resolve a dispute over ownership of a school building. Kurram has for three years been a flashpoint for violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims. More than 4,000 people have died in outbreaks of sectarian violence between the groups since the late 1980s. The army earlier carried out a months-long operation in the area, pounding militant hideouts with jets and helicopter gunships. agencies

3 anti-Taliban militiamen killed in roadside blast

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

PESHAWAR:

Three volunteers of an anti-Taliban lashkar were killed and 11 others were injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Adezai near Peshawar on Monday. Adezai Lashkar chief Dilawar Khan confirmed the death of three volunteers, saying a vehicle in which the volunteers were travelling was attacked as it was returning from Mattani Bazaar. Khan blamed the Taliban for the attack and said that terrorist activities had been on the rise in the area for the past three months.

The dead were identified as Israr, Islam Gul and Tashibullah, while another volunteer, Arsala, sustained serious injuries in the attack. Police official Khurshid Khan said three lashkar members were killed and 11 were injured in the blast. The injured were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) for treatment. Police sources said that an improvised explosive device (IED) was used in the attack. akhtar amin

2 killed in NATO tanker blast in Landikotal

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Staff Report LANDIKOTAL:

The driver and conductor of a tanker carrying fuel for NATO forces were killed on Monday after their vehicle was destroyed in a bomb blast in Landikotal. Another tanker was also damaged in the attack. Noor Khan and Shakeel Khan were burnt to death when their tanker carrying some 44,000 litres of oil caught fire after the blast.

At the time of the attack, the tanker, along with other vehicles, was stuck in a traffic jam at the Landikotal bypass. Security forces and Khasadar Force cordoned off the whole area after the attack and started a search operation. An official of Khasadar Force accused the customs officials stationed at Torkham for using delaying tactics, which had caused the massive traffic jam on the Pak-Afghan border.