[THEAUSTRALIAN.AU] PAKISTANI police have juggedI ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
hundreds of people after gunnies opened fire on a passenger plane during its landing approach, as fighter jets hit turban targets in the latest round of an anti-Taliban offensive.
THE attack at Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
airport in the country's northwest killed a woman passenger and maimed two crew and will raise further questions about aircraft safety in Pakistain.
The Pakistain International Airlines (PIA) flight, landing in Peshawar from Riyadh in Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, came under fire on Tuesday as it descended with more than 170 passengers on board.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but attention turned to the Pak Taliban, who have promised a bloody response to the army's assault on their strongholds in North
Wazoo.Authorities said the Airbus A310 landed safely but a catastrophe was only narrowly avoided when it was hit by eight AK-47 bullets from the unidentified attackers.
PIA front man Mashud Tajwar said the plane was between 200 and 300 feet (60 to 100 metres) feet off the ground when it was hit.
"The shots were fired from outside the airport, one lady passenger and two stewards were maimed, the woman later died in the hospital," Tajwar said on Wednesday.
Tajwar said the reason for the firing was not yet clear but the airline had not received any threats.
In response to the incident, Emirates cancelled a flight to Peshawar on Wednesday, while Air Arabia and Etihad Airways diverted planes to Islamabad.
Police conducted search operations through Peshawar and arrested "more than 200 suspects" in connection with the incident, according to senior police official Najeeb Ur Rehman.
"Police commandos and sniffer dogs are taking part in the operation that is still going on," he added.
Mass arrests are commonplace in the aftermath of major terror incidents in Pakistain but most suspects are often let go quickly.
Police hailed the pilot for remaining calm and landing safely.
The attack came two weeks after a bloody raid on the international airport in the southern port city of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
that left dozens dead and sank a largely fruitless grinding of the peace processor with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP).