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| India-Pakistan |
| 4 soldiers killed in suicide attack |
| 2007-01-23 |
| A suicide car bomber attacked an army convoy on its way from Bannu to Miranshah in North Waziristan on Monday, killing four soldiers. The attack comes seven days after a military strike against suspected militant hideouts in Zamazola, South Waziristan. Pro-Taliban militant leader Baitullah Mehsud had vowed to avenge the attack on Zamazola “with a suicide attack”. “Today at about 1030 hours an administrative convoy moving from Bannu to Miranshah (the main town in North Waziristan) was attacked by a suicide bomber with an explosive-laden car near Khajuri (check-post). Four security forces personnel embraced shahadat while a few were injured including one who is in critical condition,” an ISPR statement said. Military spokesman Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan held “enemies of peace” responsible for the suicide attack, the first such incident since the government struck a peace deal with pro-Taliban tribal militants on September 5 last year. “Those who do not support the peace deal are likely to be behind the attack,” he told Daily Times. A student of Government Elementary College, which is a few metres from the site of Monday’s suicide attack, said the vehicle used in the attack and the army vehicle that was hit by the bomber were “completely destroyed”. “We were playing volleyball inside the college when we heard a big bang and when we came out we saw human flesh all over the road,” Nisar Dawar told Daily Times by phone from Mir Ali town. Abdullah Farhad, a spokesman for militants, distanced North Waziristan-based militant groups from the attack, saying in calls to newspaper offices: “We still stand by the September 5 accord.” The college student said a woman travelling in a passenger van was injured in the attack by flying shrapnel. However, no official confirmation was available. Khajuri check-post is an entry point into North Waziristan and the government removed all check-posts following the September 5 peace deal with pro-Taliban militants. A tribal source in Miranshah said that a 15-member peace committee was holding talks with senior Taliban leaders in Miranshah to “convey” NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai’s concerns about the threat to the peace accord when the army convoy was attacked. Orakzai had warned the committee on Saturday that any damage to the peace agreement would be disastrous for the region. |
| Posted by:Fred |