| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan's official denial that al-Zawahiri was killed |
| 2006-01-14 |
| Pakistani officials said that Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was likely not killed in a US air strike, as Islamabad protested to Washington the deaths of 18 villagers in the attack. The foreign ministry said it had summoned the US ambassador to receive a protest while Information Minister Sheikh Rashid condemned Friday's missile raid in a remote tribal area. Police also used teargas to disperse protesters after a mob chanting anti-American slogans burned down a US-funded aid agency office near the site of the attack, witnesses said. That would be the "peaceful demonstration" from earlier ... "Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan handed over a formal protest to the US ambassador at the foreign ministry this evening," foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told AFP. It is the second protest lodged by Pakistan with its key "war on terror" ally the United States for alleged incursion into its tribal region bordering Afghanistan this month. Rashid told a news conference the government had "no information about Al-Zawahiri" following Friday's "highly condemnable" attack in Damadola, a village in the Bajur tribal agency. "Things are being investigated, and let the investigation first be completed," he added. Senior Pakistani government and intelligence officials said Zawahiri was thought not to have been in the area at the time of the air strike. "As far as our investigations are concerned reports about Zawahiri being killed in the attack are not true," one top official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Our agencies have carried out initial ground checks and, combined with intelligence from the area, there is no indication about Zawahiri's presence in the area at the time of the incident or before." Villagers in Damadola said they heard aircraft or helicopters before three explosions rocked the village, and insisted that the only victims were local people. "We were asleep when the first missile hit another house. We came out but my three children were buried under debris in a second explosion," said Mohammed Khan, 35. His children all died. "The US cannot do this without Pakistan's support. We are leaving it to God to give us justice." In Khar, which is the main town in Bajur agency and close to Damadola village, an estimated 5,000 people gathered to protest the killings. Some demonstrators set fire to the offices of Associated Development Construction, a non-governmental organisation funded by the US Agency for International Development, an official at the aid group said. Police later fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob after the crowd headed towards a music and video cassette market, while security forces fired two shots in the air, the AFP reporter said. Pakistan's biggest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, called for a nationwide strike on Sunday to protest against the deaths. US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sources said earlier they had unconfirmed indications that a key target, possibly Osama bin Laden's Egyptian number two and chief ideologue, died in a raid by a US Predator drone in Pakistan. Citing US defense sources, NBC television said the strike had targeted Zawahiri, 55. The US Defense Department denied that the US military had carried out any attacks in the area. "There is no reason to believe the US military is conducting operations there," said Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #17 Interesting tidbit buried in the WaPo article on this: U.S. military sources said Pakistan's intelligence service had been heavily involved in the attack. Senior Pakistani officials would not confirm involvement in the strike but acknowledged regular intelligence cooperation with the United States. "The intelligence sharing is on an almost daily basis," said a senior Pakistani intelligence official, who said the cooperation included sharing of both human and electronic intelligence sources |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-14 22:03 |
| #16 That would be nice. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-01-14 21:13 |
| #15 And when he does come forward to speak, we will know binny is a goner. Binny should be the one to make a statement, no ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-01-14 21:10 |
| #14 The Pak responce was probable scripted from the start. This type of protest will help quell the riots. Most Paks are sympathetic to the Taliban and AQ and if there was a hint of the Gov helping in his death the riots would be out of control. The Pak government is helping the best they can and still stay in power. I would not be surprised if Condi asks for an investigation tomorrow. This will bury it in bureaucracy for weeks until it falls from the radar screen. We will never be told he was there, we will know only if he comes forward and speaks. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-01-14 20:50 |
| #13 I agree. And if we continue to strengthen ties with India, Pakistan will find itself flanked on both sides by US allies, just as Iran is beginning to be. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-01-14 19:55 |
| #12 We know what Pakistan is. But it has been worth the price, short term, to not have an overtly hostile Pakistan on Afghanistan's flank, feeding massive support to the Taliban and Al Qaeda when it was still resident there. The opinion of this little housewife, anyway. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-01-14 19:53 |
| #11 'PAKISTAN'S OFFICIAL DENIAL THAT AL-ZAWAHIRI WAS KILLED'. Yada,yada,yada. When the hell are we going to wake up and realize that the Pakis are camel dung.Re-establish military ties with India. India has religious tolerence and an economy that is integrated into the world market. Meanwhile, Pakistan keeps chewing up our foreign aid dollars and doesn't contribute shit. By the way. When we (USA) espouse our support for democracy we should always consider the consequences. How about the following....If 'free' elections were held in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia the lead vote getter would be Osama Bin Laden. You have to wonder what the outcome would be in Iraq if OBL ran against GWB. Democracy. I'm just a country boy, but I gotta wonder, is 'democracy' the glue that brings all nations together ? Or is it the opening of Pandora's Box ? |
| Posted by: Buzzsaw 2006-01-14 18:58 |
| #10 At the Old Bailey, where Abu Hamza is on trial, a terror manual has been submitted into evidence "The court was told chapters of the terrorist manual were dedicated to Osama bin Laden, the Pakistan government and terrorists who died for their cause." |
| Posted by: john 2006-01-14 17:52 |
| #9 they're only good for ops against the American voting public |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-14 17:50 |
| #8 We have at least one non-military agency capable of pulling off such an operaion. That would be directed by Bob Beckel or Paul Begala? |
| Posted by: doc 2006-01-14 17:20 |
| #7 There's also a difference between the U. S. and the U. S. military. We have at least one non-military agency capable of pulling off such an operaion. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-01-14 16:46 |
| #6 The US Defense Department denied that the US military had carried out any attacks in the area. "There is no reason to believe the US military is conducting operations there," said Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician. Is that an official denial? Sounds more like a statement of opinion to me. There is no reason to believe the US isn't conducting operations their either. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-01-14 16:38 |
| #5 Police also used teargas to disperse protesters after a mob chanting anti-American slogans burned down a US-funded aid agency office near the site of the attack, witnesses said. So does this mean that less of our money will be going into Paki-land? I sure hope so. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2006-01-14 16:07 |
| #4 "Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan handed over a formal protest to the US ambassador at the foreign ministry this evening," Is the protocol to wipe your behind with it right away, or can you take it back to the embassy first? |
| Posted by: Darrell 2006-01-14 16:03 |
| #3 Gotta improve that Halliburton earthquake machine - villagers don't hear the planes circling overhead and much more plausible deniability. But so far the precision is lacking, and generates too much collateral damage. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-01-14 15:55 |
| #2 I'll believe it when Zawahiri sez it..until then...these lying spokesholes are just looking for attention/spin/higher jobs |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-14 15:35 |
| #1 There you have it, right from ISI sources that have direct contact with him more than likely. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom 2006-01-14 15:15 |