6 Pakistani Soldiers, 6 Taliban Fighters, 3 Civilians Killed in Bomb Attacks, October 22, 2010

6 Pakistani Soldiers, 6 Taliban Fighters, 3 Civilians Killed in Bomb Attacks

October 22, 2010

6 Taliban killed in Kurram blast

The Daily Times of Pakistan, Friday, October 22, 2010

PARACHINAR:

A roadside bomb killed six Taliban, including a prominent local commander, in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, an attack that could have been motivated by tensions between different groups of fighters.

“The bomb was detonated by remote control as Hakim Khan and five of his aides were driving through the town of Marindy in Kurram,” said Jamil Khan, a local administrator. The commander who was killed was suspected of attacking Pakistani troops and kidnapping people for ransom, he said. ap

Bombs kill nine in Pakistan's northwest

by Lehaz Ali

Friday, October 22, 2010

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) –

Bomb attacks killed six Pakistani soldiers and three civilians Friday, hitting a military patrol and worshippers at a mosque in the northwest dogged by violence.

The attacks followed a three-month lull in violence since Pakistan suffered catastrophic floods in late July that affected more than 20 million people and an area the size of England in the country's worst natural disaster.

A bomb exploded near a mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, which runs into the tribal belt and which has been hard hit by Islamist militants opposed to the government's alliance with the United States.

"Three people were killed and 22 wounded in the attack," city police chief Liaqat Ali told reporters, updating an earlier police toll of two.

"The target was people in the mosque and the purpose was to create a scare," he added. Most of the wounded sustained minor injuries, he said.

The attack took place in the congested neighbourhood of Pushta Khara on the western outskirts.

Police said the attack was caused by an improvised-explosive device (IED), the makeshift bombs that have been used to devastating effect against US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than 3,740 people have been killed in suicide attacks and bomb explosions, blamed on homegrown Taliban and other Islamist extremist networks, since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad three years ago.

Another IED killed six Pakistani soldiers in the tribal district of Orakzai, which is close to Peshawar. It was the third deadly attack on paramilitary troops patrolling the tribal belt this week.

According to Pakistani military statistics, 2,421 army and paramilitary soldiers were killed and 7,195 wounded in fighting with Islamist militants from 2002 until April this year.

The United States is planning a public show of support for Pakistan on Friday, including potential new military aid -- a key issue for the powerful army -- as it tries to strike a balance with its growing ties to India.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will lead a third and final day of a "strategic dialogue" with Pakistan, an initiative by the Obama administration to demonstrate long-term assistance.

Pakistan won US praise after it mounted offensives against homegrown Taliban extremists last year.

But a White House report to Congress earlier this month stated bluntly that Pakistan has not confronted Afghanistan's Taliban, in what experts see as a bid by Islamabad to preserve influence over its northwestern neighbour.

Pakistani officials have been angered by reports of mounting US pressure on the military to launch an offensive against militants fighting American troops in Afghanistan but who are based in North Waziristan, part of the tribal belt.

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