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Acts of Terrorism in Pakistan

Militancy: TTP claims responsibility for kidnapping peace militiamen

MIRANSHAH: Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the abduction of four members of an anti-Taliban militia in Tank district last month.

Speaking from an undisclosed location, TTP North Waziristan Agency Commander Asmatullah Shaheen said that the four men were kidnapped on March 25 from Umer Bus Stand. “We will kill them one by one if our demands are not met,” said Shaheen, without saying what the demands were. “We will not tell the media what the demands are but they need to be met within a week.”

The men have been identified as Gul Muhammad, Mukhtiar, Abdul Wahab and Rehman.
 
Bodies of six ex-LI men found in Khyber

Bara - At least six bodies including of former key commander of banned outfit Lashkar-e-Islam named Hazrat, who recently surrendered before the security forces, were recovered in Sepah area of Khyber Agency on Wednesday. According to official sources, six militants including key commander identified as Hazrat disassociated with banned outfit Laskhar-e-Islam and had surrendered before the security forces 10 days ago. They were kidnapped while bodies of all the six persons were recovered, officials said.Meanwhile, security forces conducted search action in the Akakhel area in Bara and arrested at least 12 suspected persons for investigations
 
10 labourers abucted from Dera Bugti-Sui road site

QUETTA: At least 10 labourers working on the Dera Bugti-Sui road were abducted by a group of armed men near Sui during the early hours of Thursday.
The District Police Officer Dera Bugti confirmed the kidnapping, adding that police and security forces have mounted a manhunt in the area for the safe recovery of the labourers.
The labourers were sitting in tents pitched beside the road under construction near Sui when a group of armed men abducted ten of them at gun point.
“A few labourers were left behind as they were sitting inside another tent,” official sources said.

Militants execute seven renegades in Khyber

Seven men – including a former top commander of the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) extremist outfit – were publicly executed by the group in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency for betraying the group.
The men had allegedly decided to rejoin Mangal Bagh’s outlawed outfit after having surrendered to the security forces some days earlier, officials revealed.
A local resident told The Express Tribune – requesting anonymity because of the security risks in the area – that Hazrat Khan, a former militant commander along with six others of his group were brought to the village of Speen Qabar, located in the Sipah area early in the morning.
“The men were brought in pick-up vans to a ground in the village,” he said.
“The LI men asked locals to gather around while announcing that the men were renegades who had raised an anti-LI militia to assist the security forces and were captured from the Alam Gudar area.”
Another witness said that two of the men were slaughtered publicly while the rest were sprayed with bullets.
“Hazrat Khan and Rehman were brutally tortured and killed,” he said. Source said that bodies of the executed men were handed over to their relatives in the area.
The assistant political agent for Bara, Bakhtiar Mohmand, while confirming the incident, told The Express Tribune that Hazrat Khan and his men had surrendered to the security forces. He added that two days back they decided to rejoin Mangal Bagh’s LI.
“They were negotiating with LI since the last two days. It seems the negotiations failed,” said Mohmand, while adding that Hazrat Khan was one of the most prominent commanders of Mangal Bagh.
The rest of the men were identified as Khalid, Sheray, Arabay, Khan Wazeer and Najib.
Fighting in Bara has forced almost 0.18 million people to flee the area and take shelter in camps in Nowshera.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2012.
 
Excise inspector killed in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: An excise inspector was killed when a remote-controlled bomb detonated in the Ghaniur Rehman Qala area of Peshawar on Saturday. The attack took place within the jurisdiction of Daudzai Police Station.
Police said that the bomb had been planted near the front gate of Haji Khaista Mir’s house. The bomb went off when he opened the gate in the morning, killing him on the spot.
“It was a remote controlled device of 6kg intensity which was planted near the main gate of the building. When Khaista, who was an excise inspector, opened it around 5am to go to the mosque for morning prayers, the bomb went off,” said DSP Riazul Islam while talking to The Express Tribune.
Islam said that the relatives of the deceased had informed him that he had no personal enmity and it seemed to be an act of terrorism.
Daudzai, a suburb of Peshawar, lies adjacent to the Michni area of Mohmand Agency. The only border between the two areas is Kabul River, which militants cross by boats to reach the settled district.

Two injured as second bomb explodes on Kohat road

PESHAWAR: Two people were injured when a bomb exploded on Kohat Road on Saturday evening.
The bomb, police said, had been planted at the gate of Haji Rahim Afridi’s Hujra near the Ghaz Stop. Gul Faraz and Jehanzeb who were at house, were injured in the subsequent blast.
“One Gul Faraz is injured critically while the other one has sustained minor wounds. It seems to be a case of militancy as in the past the house of Afridi has been attacked in Matani area too,” DSP Riazul Islam of Badabher Police Station said while talking to The Express Tribune, adding that around two kilogram of explosive had been used in the bomb.
It is worth mentioning here that it was the second explosion of its kind on Kohat Road today.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
 
Militants attack Pakistan jail, nearly 400 escape - police

Nearly 400 prisoners escaped from a jail in northwest Pakistan early on Sunday after it was attacked by Islamist militants armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades, a senior police official said.

Some of those who fled the jail in the town of Bannu, near unruly ethnic Pahstun tribal areas close to the Afghan border, were militants, an intelligence official said.

Pakistan's Taliban movement, which has close links to al Qaeda, said its fighters mounted the assault, which triggered clashes. Several people were wounded.

"We have freed hundreds of our comrades in Bannu in this attack. Several of our people have reached their destinations, others are on their way," said a Taliban spokesman.

The claim could not be immediately verified.

If the Taliban freed the prisoners, it could deal a psychological blow to Pakistani security forces, who say they have made gains against militants through a series of attacks on their strongholds.

Police and intelligence officials said only some of the prisoners who escaped were militants.

"Dozens of militants attacked Bannu's central jail in the early hours of the morning, and over 300 prisoners have escaped," senior police official Mir Sahib Jan told Reuters.

"There was intense gunfire, and rocket-propelled grenades were also used."

Paramilitary troops and security forces surrounded Bannu Central Jail. Of a total 944 prisoners in the jail, 384 escaped, said another police official.

Militants apparently targeted six jail blocks in the attack, he said.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, is fighting to topple the U.S.-backed Islamabad government.

Major suicide bombings have eased in recent months, suggesting either security crackdowns have weakened the group, or it has changed tactics.
 
S Waziristan violence: Botched suicide attack in Wana

Five security personnel were injured when a suicide bomber in an explosives-laden vehicle was intercepted at the gate of Wana Scouts Camp, in South Waziristan Agency.
The vehicle was destroyed by the security forces on guard.
“The attacker tried to target the Zalia Gate of the scouts camp,” an official told The Express Tribune. “The vehicle, which was intercepted by the security men on guard, was fired upon immediately after it was intercepted,” he added.
The official confirmed that five security men sustained “minor injuries”, adding that the cause of the injuries were not from the splinters of the vehicle or the explosives but because their bunkers had been affected because of the intensity of the explosion.
Sources told The Express Tribune that rockets were initially fired to divert the attention of the security forces before the pick-up tried to target the military installation in the main city of South Waziristan Agency. “The intensity of the explosion was so loud that it could be heard at a distance of almost three kilometres,” a resident of the area said.
Wana, which is part of the Wazir tribe’s territory, is the subject of a “peace treaty” between the government and the tribe. The area has witnessed much violence since the bodies of two security personnel were discovered in the main market of the town last month.
A jirga of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe has been given a deadline to hand over the culprits along with kidnapped security personnel within 15 days, which expires today (Sunday).

After two more schools blown up in Mohmand, militant school tally up to 94

GHALLANAI: The number of destroyed schools in Mohmand Agency reached 94 after militants destroyed two more government primary schools were in Mohmand Agency on Saturday, officials said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, an official of the Political Administration Tehsil Safi said that two government girls primary schools in Abdullah Kakar Kor and Gulandar areas of Tehsil Safi came under attack by militants who had planted explosives near the building.
“Both schools were partially destroyed,” said the official, “a woman who lived close to the school was injured,” he added. Two cows were also killed as a result of the explosion.
Security forces in the area searched the area with the help of sniffer dogs and arrested seven suspected people under the Collective Responsibility Clause of the Frontier Crime Regulation (FCR).
An Education Department official told The Express Tribune that the number of destroyed schools in the Agency had risen to 94.
Safi is considered to be the spiritual homeland of the Taliban in Mohmand. Unsurprisingly it also accounts for the highest number of destroyed schools in the agency. “With these attacks there are now 50 schools that have been destroyed in Safi alone,” the official said.
He added that that the education department was planning to rebuild all of the destroyed and damaged schools in the Agency, however due to lack of funds and resources, classes were being conducted in temporary tents.
“We have asked foreign donors to help us rebuild the schools but it will take some time” the official said.
 
One child killed, two injured in Peshawar school grenade attack

PESHAWAR: One child was killed while another two sustained injuries when unknown assailants lobbed a grenade at a school situated on the Chargano Kalay Road in the outskirts of Peshawar on Monday.
The children were present in the school’s courtyard when the grenade exploded.
The deceased is reported to be aged between 10-12 years. The body and the injured have been shifted to Lady Ready Hospital.
Eye-witnesses say that some assailants came on motorcycles and lobbed a grenade inside the school.
 
Militants torch man’s house for playing music at a wedding

BARA: A banned militant organisation in Khyber Agency torched a house on Tuesday to punish its residents for playing music and beating drums during a wedding ceremony, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Sources said that Hussain Khan, a resident of Akakhel area in the agency’s Bara district, was sent a notice by militants to appear before them and pay a fine for playing music in his house. Hussain defied the order, resulting in the militants torching his house in the area considered their stronghold.
According to sources, none of the family members were at home at the time of attack. The family, they said, has moved to Peshawar due to the military operation in Khyber Agency.
The militants have been involved in this barbaric practice for some time.
Bismillah Khan Afridi, a resident of the agency’s Jamrud district, told The Express Tribune that two years ago, members of the same militant organisation arrested some people in Bara for playing drums at a wedding ceremony.
“We told the militants to excuse us as we were outsiders and ignorant of the law but they arrested us and released us only after paying them a fine of Rs15,000.”
Ghulam Farooq, an official of the Bara Political Administration, said that when his office was informed of the incident in Akakhel, they sent paramilitary Khasadar troops to the area but the militants had fled.

Strife in Bara: Militia publicly executes three ‘extremists’

BARA:Three alleged activists of the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) extremist groups were publicly executed by the Zakhakhel peace committee in the Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency on Saturday.
The local Aman Lashkar publicly shot dead three alleged LI men – Aqal Zareen, Yaqub and another man, whose name could not be ascertained, accusing them for violence in the region.
The Lashkar also arrested three other alleged LI men, one of whom was identified as Jumma Khan, from the Zakhakhel tribe.

Bomb attack
Separately suspected militants set off an improvised explosive device in the Mandikas area, killing the wives of two brothers – Yaras Khan and Sherullah – and injuring as many people from the same family.
Talking to The Express Tribune, a senior political administration official said that such blasts occur in every military operation.

Three bodies found
Meanwhile, local sources told The Express Tribune that amid the ongoing military operation, three unidentified handcuffed bodies were found on Saturday in the Yousaf Talab area populated by the Sipah tribe in Bara.
They said the law and order situation in the area has again taken a turn for the worse during the last two weeks and people mostly stay indoors.

Residents complain about problems
Several residents have complained about the collateral damage in the military operation and other problems.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Muhammad Saleem claimed that nearly 80% of the local population had evacuated the area while the rest were either restricted, or they lack the resources to move to other areas.
Misal Khan, a principal at a private school in the Akakhel area, said that the authorities should provide an opportunity to locals to shift their families to Peshawar and surrounding areas.
Senator Haji Khan Afridi, hailing from Bara, said that the local population is suffering badly. He demanded relaxation in curfew timings to let the locals evacuate from the area.
He also complained that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor and the concerned corps commander did not consult the local elected representatives before launching the operation in the area
 
Militancy in North Waziristan: 8 dead in TTP-Haqqani network clashes

PESHAWAR:
Fierce clashes between the Haqqani network and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan left at least eight people dead in North Waziristan Agency, local sources said on Thursday.

“The Taliban attacked Malik Karim Khan’s tribe late Wednesday night. The tribe resisted the attack, leading to crossfire,” a local resident said, requesting anonymity.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the clash started in the early hours of Thursday and intensified after the deaths of TTP commander Jehanzeb Khan and Haqqani commander Qadir Haqqani.

The clashes erupted in the Malik Shadam Khan area of the agency’s Speen Waam sub-district, which shares a border with Afghanistan. Six people, including a woman, were killed by members of the Haqqani network in the primary clash. In retaliation, two Haqqani network men were killed and several houses in the area suffered damage due to the use of heavy weaponry.

According to an official of the Mirali political administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity, a local tribal elder Gulbuddin was killed in the clash. Gulbuddin was among those tribesmen who were trying to broker a ceasefire between the two parties.

The group continued fighting at the time of filing this report. Sources said the TTP was led by Sattar, who was nominated commander after his cousin Jehanzeb’s death. The Haqqani network, they said, is being commandeered by a man named Sangeen.

They said that residents have begun fleeing the area, where both groups have taken positions against each other. Tribal elders and religious clerics are making efforts to broker a ceasefire between the warring groups.

There was no estimate of how many fighters were involved, but sources said the number runs in the hundreds for both groups.

The clashes have a history. Two years ago, a son of Malik Karim Khan had gone missing and the tribe suspected that he was kidnapped by local Taliban militants. The tribe then abducted two people, believed to be associated with the Taliban. Karim Khan’s son was released but killed within days of being freed, leading to renewed suspicion.

Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a senior Taliban commander, had asked the people of North Waziristan to rise up against all forces that were using the agency’s soil for their own motives. He had asked the people of the “South”, a clear reference to the TTP which mostly consists of the Mehsud tribesmen, to respect their land and property. The statement was made through a pamphlet distributed in Mir Ali, two days after the Bannu jailbreak, for which the TTP claimed responsibility.
 
Militants blow up girls' school in Khyber Agency

JAMRUD: Militants planted explosives in the boundary wall of a government girls’ middle school, destroying the building in the Ghundai area of Jamrud, Khyber Agency on Saturday.
“The explosive material was planted in the boundary wall of the school, which destroyed the building,” said officials of sub-district Jamrud.
The owner of the school, Malik Haji Zewar Khan, told The Express Tribune that he heard a sound but took it as thunder due to heavy rain the previous night. But after few minutes, his son Khalid, who was a watchman of the school, informed him of what had happened.
Soon after the explosion, locals started rescue work by gathering the debris of the damaged building.
Assistant Political Agent (APA) Jamrud, Mohammad Jamil, employed sniffer dogs and successfully arrested a suspect, Sher Haider, who lived near the school, and arrested three other armed suspects.
APA Jamrud also issued orders for the arrest of the school watchmen.
While talking to media from an undisclosed location, Abdullah Azzam Brigade spokesperson Abu Zarar claimed responsibility for the attack.

JWP leader: Shazain Bugti’s lawyer kidnapped

QUETTA:
A legal adviser of Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP)’s provincial president Nawabzada Shazain Bugti was kidnapped in Quetta on Friday.
According to police, the lawyer, identified as Mukesh Kholi, was intercepted in Satellite Town by unknown people who took him away at gunpoint. Balochistan Bar Association (BBA) and United Lawyer Panel (ULP) boycotted court proceedings soon after the incident.
They condemned the kidnapping of their colleague and announced that they will intensify their protest and extend it to the whole country if the lawyer was not rescued immediately.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has taken notice of the kidnapping and ordered law enforcement agencies to ensure his safe and immediate recovery.
Addressing a news conference, Nawabzada Talal Akbar Bugti, President of the JWP, has demanded immediate resignation of the provincial government. He asked the government to recover the lawyer within 48 hours or face agitation from his party as well as others.

Five dead in Battagram shooting – The Express Tribune
 
Tribesmen told to expel militants from South Waziristan

DI KHAN:
Pamphlets warning tribesmen against harbouring militants were distributed in the South Waziristan tribal region on Saturday – a day when the authorities gave local tribesmen until April 25 to expel Taliban insurgents from their villages.
The pamphlets, titled ‘A Public Message’, were distributed by the authorities in the Wana subdivision, residents said.
“All those who are helping local or foreign militants with money or men should expel them before April 25 because these terrorists are the enemy of Islam and Pakistan,” reads the pamphlet, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune.
“If terrorists are found anywhere in the region after the lapse of the deadline, the government will launch an operation there,” it warns.
The political administration had earlier closed down all routes to the agency, causing problems for tribesmen. The decision was taken following a surge in violence that prompted a small-scale military operation.
The routes were closed following the April 4 botched suicide attack in the area. Local tribal elders decided to hold talks with the political administration to re-open the routes.
A grand jirga of Ahmadzai Wazir tribes met with the political authorities on Saturday.
A tribal elder, who was part of the Jirga, told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity that the tribesmen were serious in maintaining peace in Wana “we will convene an internal jirga to discuss the issue in detail as to what steps need to be taken before the deadline expires”.

IED blast in Tank
Meanwhile, at least one security official was injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded on Tank-Jandola Road near Khirgi village of Frontier Region of Tank, a security official told The Express Tribune.
The security personnel inadvertently stepped on an IED planted by militants along a roadside. As result, the man was wounded.
A few hours later another explosion occurred near the FC Fort located in Manzai, around 7 kilometres from Jandola area of the Bittani tribe. A security forces vehicle was slightly damaged.
Another two IEDs were recovered from the Khirgi area, which were subsequently defused by the security forces

Militants blow up clinic and two schools in KP

PESHAWAR: Unknown militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa blew up two schools and a clinic in separate attacks on Sunday morning, DawnNews reported.

According to police sources militants blew up a Government Primary school in Peshawar’s Matra area.

One room of the school was damaged by the explosion. Bomb disposal squad reached the area and diffused another IED planted in the vicinity.

Another school was blown up by militants in Dera Ismail Khan.

No loss of life was reported in either incident as schools are closed on Sunday.

A private clinic was blown up by militants in Budh Bher area of Peshawar
 
Balochistan violence: Landmine blasts, shooting claim six lives

QUETTA:
Six people, including a father, his son and two members of a pro-government Amn force, were killed in separate incidents of landmine explosions and firing in Jaffarabad and Dera Bugti on Sunday.
Official sources said a pick-up vehicle ferrying Amn force personnel burst into flames when it hit a landmine near the Loti gas field. Two men identified as Mohammad and Wayzi, were killed instantly while two others Sabo Khan and his 14-year-old grandson were injured.
Law enforcement personnel rushed to the site and transported the bodies and the wounded to Sui hospital.
Later Levies personnel registered a case against unidentified miscreants and launched an investigation into the matter.

Two dead in landmine blast
A landmine explosion killed two men in Jaffarabad district. According to sources, the two men were en route to Kandhkot when they hit a landmine planted along the road by unidentified persons.
Both victims sustained multiple splinter wounds and died on the spot.
Law enforcement agencies rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area. The deceased were taken to a nearby hospital for autopsy and their identities could not be confirmed immediately.
A case has been registered against the unidentified persons and investigations are under way.
Father, son shot dead
In a separate incident, a man and his son were gunned down in Goth Kareemabad area of Dera Allahyar. According to sources, armed men barged into the house and opened fire at Abu Talib and his six-year-old son Bashir Ahmed. Both sustained multiple bullet wounds and succumbed to their injuries. Police officials rushed to the spot soon after the incident, but the assailants managed to escape the crime scene.
The deceased were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital Dera Allahyar for an autopsy. According to a local police officer, it was a case of land dispute and the relatives of the victims have nominated seven people in their FIR. A manhunt has commences in the area to arrest the culprits

Mattani attack: Four cousins killed in ‘militant ambush’

PESHAWAR: Four people were killed in what police suspect was a “militant ambush” in Adezai village near the Mattani police station, located on the outskirts of Peshawar.
An official from the Mattani police said that two brothers, Jamshed and Naeem, along with two of their cousins, Saleem and Abid, had gone to Peshawar airport to see off a cousin, after which they did not return to their homes. They were reported missing along with the taxi they rented.
“They were supposed to come back in the evening but when they didn’t, a search was launched by their families,” the official added. At around 1am their bodies were discovered along with their bullet-ridden car. “They were lying in their vehicle, all dead. They had been killed at least three hours earlier,” the police official said, adding that the vehicle had probably run into an ambush set by local militants.
When the men were located by locals and relatives, members of the local peace militia and police were informed. The site was then cordoned off and the victims’ bodies were shifted to Matani police station. Matani police told The Express Tribune that an FIR had been registered against unknown assailants as the victims had no known enemies.
The murder caused yet another wave of panic across the village, which has been the main battleground between local militants and the local peace militia.
 
Two tribesmen killed

Two members of the ‘Bugti Amn Force’ were killed when a landmine blew up a vehicle in Loti area on Sunday.

According to sources, Sher Mohammad and Movezi were killed when their pick-up set off the landmine at Zamardan in the Loti gas field.

Another man and his 14-year-old grandson, who were in the vehicle, were injured.

Security personnel took the bodies and the injured to Sui Hospital.
 
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