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| India-Pakistan |
| Taliban claims attack on US consulate |
| 2010-04-05 |
| ISLAMIST militants armed with guns and suicide vests have targeted the US consulate in Pakistan's north-western capital and unleashed carnage at a political rally, killing 43 people. Pakistan's main Taliban faction claimed responsibility for the attack on the US consulate, in a telephone call to AFP from an undisclosed location. "We accept the attacks on the American consulate. This is revenge for drone attacks," Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Azam Tariq said. The apparently coordinated attacks were the deadliest so far this year in nuclear-armed Pakistan, where the Government is closely allied to the US-led war against al-Qaeda and in neighbouring Afghanistan. The ability of heavily-armed militants to get so close to the US mission and other military installations, such as the provincial headquarters of Pakistan's premier spy agency, will raise further questions about endemnic insecurity. Up to 15 militants armed with explosives and driving in two vehicles targeted the heavily guarded US consulate in Peshawar, a city of 2.5 million on the edge of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, setting off multiple explosions. "The target was certainly the American consulate but they didn't succeed in getting there," Pakistani police officer Ghulam Hussain said. "One of the suicide bombers blew himself up close to the gate. "Police guarding the US consulate started retaliatory fire. More blasts took place. "We have recovered unexploded material from four different points." Three powerful explosions and bouts of gunfire echoed through the area, where an AFP reporter said the attacks occurred at a checkpoint about 20m from the US consulate where heavy thick smoke spewed into the sky. Pakistani police and army sealed off the area, preventing journalists from accessing the scene and later carried out a number of controlled explosions. A provincial cabinet minister said four militants, a policeman and another person were killed during the attack. It was not clear whether some of the assailants may have escaped. Earlier today, a suicide bomber attacked an open-air rally in the north-west district of Lower Dir, where Pakistan waged a major offensive against local Taliban insurgents last year. The attack killed 41 people during a celebration organised by the leading secular political party in north-west and was the deadliest in Lower Dir since the anti-Taliban offensive. Residents reportedly said the bomb exploded close to the stage at the political gathering. Lower Dir borders Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, where suspected Taliban armed with petrol bombs and rockets torched eight tankers used to supply fuel to NATO forces in Afghanistan before dawn today. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 attacks occurred at a checkpoint about 20m from the US consulate So was that like even in the same city as the consulate? Same upazilla? And did Abdul somehow take a left at Albuquerque, miss the consulate and detonate at a Paki rally? Did he notice the lack of business suits and a plethora of shawar kameez? Did he think it was the US consulate visa line? |
| Posted by: ed 2010-04-05 13:26 |