CHAKDARA: Four Pakistan Army troops, including a major and a lieutenant, were killed on Friday in an improvised explosive device attack on a military convoy in Dir – a stronghold of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the banned Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi. “Four soldiers have been martyred in an IED explosion,” ISPR Director General Maj Gen Waheed Arshad told Daily Times. He, however, denied that the attack was a reaction to the standoff with the Lal Masjid brigade in Islamabad.Eyewitnesses said army helicopters airlifted the injured soldiers and the convoy later moved to its destination. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the local people the outlawed TNSM could be “behind the blast.”
“We are concerned at the situation that may turn Lal Masjid-like,” Shakirullah Khan, a trader union leader said. The attack is the second such in as many days and comes after cleric Fazlullah in Swat gave a call to his supporters for “jihad” on his illegal FM radio channel following the action against two Lal Masjid mullahs and their supporters.
Rockets were also fired at a military base in Khyber Agency on Thursday. No major damage was reported. Six soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Bannu frontier region near North Waziristan on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, a police constable and four civilians were killed in a remote-controlled explosion aiming district police officer in Mingora. Sources said the army was ordered to move to Dir and Malakand – the two areas NWFP police chief Sharif Virk declared “sensitive” after the operation against Lal Masjid was launched on Tuesday.
Agencies add: Police said the suicide bomber, who was riding a bicycle, killed four security officials. They are Major Afaq, Lieutenant Zia, Tanvir and Barkat. The driver of the convoy sustained injuries and was admitted to Bat Khela Hospital in critical condition.