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| India-Pakistan |
| Four militants killed in foiled Pakistan escape bid |
| 2002-09-08 |
| This just in from ace reporter D.J. Wu: Pakistani militants attacked a police van Sunday in an attempt to free imprisoned comrades, triggering a gun battle that left four militants dead — including the two prisoners, who were accused in an October attack on a church. The two prisoners were leading police to a hidden weapons cache after midnight Sunday when the police van was ambushed by three men in a white car. The incident happened near the village of Karore Pakka, in the eastern province of Punjab, Deputy Inspector General Police Chaudhry Iftikhar said. Leading them to the arms cache after midnight? Why not wait until it's light? And the Bad Guys just happened to be waiting to ambush them en route? Betcha I know where Mahmoud the Weasel's working now... The two prisoners were killed in the hourlong shootout, as were two of the men who tried to free them. A hunt was on for the third attacker. Police said the militants, all in their early 20s, were believed to be followers of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Sunni Muslim group that has targeted Christians and minority Shiite Muslims. The prisoners, Abdul Shiraz and Muhammad Wasim, were accused of attacking a Protestant congregation in Behawalpur last October. Fifteen Christians and one Muslim guard were killed in that attack, which happened when at least six gunmen burst into St. Dominic's Roman Catholic church - which the Protestants were using - during services, spraying the congregation with gunfire. They've been an inspiration to gunnies ever since... Four other suspects in the Behawalpur attack and two more militants were killed in almost identical circumstances six weeks ago. That's something that makes me wonder whether the idea was to spring these guys, or if it was to shut them up... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |