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Suicide bomber targets 'vice and virtue' organisation chief
BARA: A suicide bomber blew himself up in a Khyber Agency madrassa on Thursday injuring at least 18 people in a bid apparently aimed at killing the head of a religio-militant organisation, eyewitnesses and security officials said. “I was the target,” Haji Namdar, chief of the Amar Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar (Promotion of Virtue and Suppression of Vice) organisation, told Daily Times. “I am safe.”

The suicide bomber, aged between 15 and 18, blew himself up as he approached Namdar at the madrassa in Takya, eyewitnesses said. One eyewitness, Amin Khan, said the attacker struck after Namdar had finished a sermon and appealed for donations for jihad, AP reported. “As people were handing out their contributions, a boy … stood up with a pistol in his hand, pretending to offer the weapon as a donation,” another witness, Mohammad Yaqub, told AFP.

Only one of three explosives-filled sections of the attacker’s suicide belt had detonated, Amin Khan told AP. “There would have been much devastation if all the detonators worked,” said security officials. They also said the dead bomber’s face was recognisable and “he looks to be a foreigner”.

The injured were rushed to hospitals in Peshawar. Namdar said he was not opposed to suicide bombings targeting “Islam’s enemy”, but was opposed to attacks on fellow Muslims.
"'Specially on me! Dayum!"
He said the attack could be a “reaction” to his organisation’s action against people who attempted to kidnap Mahsud Scouts troops in Kambarkhel this week. “We expelled those people ... and the same people could be involved in the attack,” said Namdar. He said his organisation was investigating the attack and “will move” against the perpetrators.

Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani strongly condemned the attack on Thursday, APP reported. He expressed his sympathies with those injured in the attack, and directed authorities concerned to ensure that they receive the best medical treatment.
Posted by: Fred 2008-05-02
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=238040