Pakistani Taliban militants on Monday said a weekend suicide attack that killed 13 people was carried out in revenge for a suspected US missile strike on a rebel hideout.
| "We dunnit and we're glad!" |
The suicide bomber struck near an army base in the northwestern city of Mardan on Sunday night, in the deadliest attack since a new government came to power in late March and began talks with the militants. "Our local Taliban leaders in Mardan have telephoned us and claimed responsibility for the attack," Maulvi Omar, the spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistan Taliban Movement), told AFP. "The Mardan attack was in reaction to Damadola," he said, referring to a missile strike last week that killed 14 people in the town of Damadola in Pakistan's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military has accused US-led coalition forces based in Afghanistan of launching the missile from a pilotless drone and lodged a complaint over the violation of its territorial sovereignty. Pakistan's new government launched negotiations with Taliban militants based in the tribal belt after defeating US-backed President Pervez Musharraf's political allies in February general elections. |