The suicide mission that went all wrong

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The suicide mission that went all wrong ​

By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - The attack on the United States consulate in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), on April 5 was a combined operation of several militant groups with support from renegade elements of the lower cadre of the security apparatus, Asia Times Online's investigations reveal.

The attack, in which five people were killed, as well as the six attackers, could have been a bigger blow to the US Central Intelligence Agency than the operation in Khost in Afghanistan in December 2009 had it not been for two unforeseen incidents. (In the suicide attack on the CIA's forward operating base of Chapman in Khost seven agents were killed, including the station chief, with six people injured.)

The carefully planned operation in Peshawar, the capital of NWFP, involved several militant groups, including from Peshawar, the Pakistani tribal regions and southern Punjab. They were apparently in contact with cadre of the Frontier Constabulary (FC), a federal paramilitary force comprised mostly of people from the tribal areas, Asia Times Online has learned.

The security personnel passed on critical information on the presence of CIA officials inside the consulate, including maps of the consulate building and its approaches. They also arranged for the militants to receive a safe passage to enter the most-secured "red zone" area of the consulate.

The consulate is officially instrumental in disbursing millions of dollars in US aid into the tribal areas as a part of Washington's aim of eliminating support for the Taliban.

On Monday, April 5, six militants set off in a mini-van (known as "Suzuki carry") for the consulate, which is situated in a very secure zone. The first security cordon was in Hospital Road, comprising an armored personnel carrier (APC) blocking the road.
The second cordon was at Delta Barrier, about 50 meters from the APC cordon. The Pakistani Military Intelligence NWFP office is close to Delta Barrier, as is the military's Live Battle School barrack.

As the militants approached the first barrier, one of them got out of the vehicle and let off a suicide bomb. The blast cleared the way and the militants headed for the second barrier. This time they launched salvoes of rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and gun fire.

The plan now was to use a large ramp they were carrying with them to drive over the barrier and head for the office of the CIA's technical team, which they had pinpointed. They were to take them hostage, use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of other militants and then kill the Americans.

But things had already started to go wrong.

The suicide attack had destroyed the APC as planned, but a big chunk of the engine had been sent flying all the way to Delta Barrier, where it lodged in the security barrier. The suicide bomb also instantly killed two people on a passing motorcycle, which careened into the militants' vehicle. This caused them to lose valuable minutes before they set off for Delta Barrier.

Once they reached this second security check point and had cleared the guards with their assorted weapons fire, they were further delayed as they struggled to clear the heavy and hot engine chunk from their path.

By this time the internal security of the consulate was rushing to the scene. The militants began to confront them, but in the heat of the moment one of them detonated his suicide vest, killing all of the militants.

The goal of penetrating one of the most important CIA bases in the region was dramatically and abruptly brought to a bloody end.

Pakistani and American intelligence agencies are now trying to find out just how much inside help the militants received. Intercepts of communication point to lower cadre of possibly the FC and several arrests have already been made.

Initial inquiries show the militants took at least a month to plan the operation, which was overseen and financed by al-Qaeda. The foot soldiers were militants from southern Punjab and the tribal areas.

The abortive attack follows one on the Police Intelligence Department in Lahore; more are expected.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He is writing an exclusive account of al-Qaeda's strategy and ideology in an upcoming book 9/11 and beyond: The One Thousand and One Night Tales of Al-Qaeda. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com

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