Attack on Police Convoy in Pakistan Kills 6

A militant attack on a police convoy near the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least six policemen.
Several others were wounded, including the district police officer, in the attack Friday on the Indus Highway. Local media say the militants armed with rockets ambushed the convoy, which was on its way from Peshawar to Kohat.

A wounded driver was able to reach Kohat, where the wounded were rushed to a hospital. A police contingent was sent to the area after the attack.

Earlier Friday, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a convoy of NATO containers in northwestern Pakistan, killing a driver and wounding another person.

Local tribal police official Khan Dad said the gunmen opened fire from the nearby mountains as the convoy entered Pakistan from Afghanistan in the troubled Khyber region.

The convoy was heading for the port city of Karachi.

Militant attacks are common in northwestern Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt near the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan is a key transit route for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, from where supplies are driven to the border from the Arabian Sea port of Karachi.

In Peshawar, a suicide bomber attacked the vehicle of a religious leader Friday, killing three people.

Authorities say the leader, Haji Hayatullah, was not in the vehicle when it was attacked.  His driver, a bodyguard and a passerby were killed in the blast.

No one has claimed responsibility.

from VOA News
May 24, 2013

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5/17/13: 13 Killed in Pakistan Mosque Blasts

Men inspect the mosque damaged by a bomb blast in Baz Darra area of Malakand. PHOTO: RAB NAWAZ/EXPRESS

Black Friday: Blasts tear through Malakand mosques

PESHAWAR / BATKHELA: Two bombs ripped through two separate mosques in the Baz Darra area of Malakand Protected Area on Friday, killing 13 worshippers and wounding over three dozen people.

“Around 1:20pm when people gathered for Friday prayers in the main mosque, Bar Jummat, in Baz Darra village a bomb went off, killing nine worshippers on the spot and injuring over 35,” Deputy Commissioner Amjid Ali Khan told journalists. Another four worshippers, with critical wounds, succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

Residents rushed to pull out victims from the mosque which collapsed due to the impact of the blast, Khan said. Minutes later, a second bomb tore through a nearby mosque, he added. A 70-year-old man, identified as Khalilur Rahman, was trapped under the rubble of the second mosque and died.

Explaining why the second blast was less deadly, Khan said that most of the worshippers had rushed to help the victims of the first blast. “It’s an act of terrorism,” Khan said, adding that they didn’t have intelligence of a possible attack in the region.

Levies forces official Gul Roz Khan said it was a time device which was planted under a praying mat inside the main hall of the mosque. He added that the mosque was reduced to a heap of rubble. Details of the second blast were murky till the filing of this report.

According to Gul Roz, four critically injured people died while being shifted to Dargai Civil Hospital while a state of emergency was declared in Palai Civil Hospital and nearby medical units.

“We have imposed a curfew in the area and mounted a manhunt for the perpetrators,” Gul Roz added.

Dr Naseer of the Palai Civil Hospital said that they have received around 30 injured – five of them, with life-threatening wounds have been referred to hospitals in Peshawar.

Nine injured were shifted to Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital – two of them are said to be in a critical condition.

“I was offering prayers when a loud explosion went off,” Zareen Muhammad, a farmer who was injured in the blast, told The Express Tribune from his hospital bed. “I lost consciousness and when I regained senses I found myself on the hospital bed.”

Another survivor, Inamullah Khan, said that the blast took place during Friday’s sermon of the prayer leader. “Thick smoke and dust filled the main prayers hall. When the smoke cleared I found myself lying amidst many other inured,” he added.

Earlier in the morning, the house of a retired security official was targeted with a bomb by suspected militants in Baz Darra village. The boundary wall and main gate of the house were destroyed in the explosion.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan condemned the bombings in strong terms and ordered the authorities to be ‘vigilant’ to avert such incidents in future, said a statement issued by his office.

The provincial information minister, Mussarat Qadeem, also denounced the blasts and expressed grief over the loss of precious lives. In a statement, she said that restoration of peace topped the priority list of the interim administration. She sought people’s cooperation in combating the menace of militancy in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2013.
By Tribune Correspondent / Rab Nawaz / Photo: Rab Nawaz
Published: May 18, 2013

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Pakistan: 3 killed, 11 injured in Miranshah market blast

MIRANSHAH: A motorbike bomb close to party political offices killed three people and wounded 11 in Miranshah on the eve of the country's general election.

The bomb went off in the main bazaar of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan district, a security official said.

Witnesses and hospital officials said 11 people had been taken to Miranshah Civil Hospital, some of them in a serious condition.

Another official in the northwestern city of Peshawar confirmed the blast and the casualties.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Pakistan goes to the polls on Saturday to elect a new government, the first time in the country's turbulent history that one civilian administration has handed power to another through the ballot box.

But the campaign has been marred by violence, with more than 100 people killed in bombings and shootings in the month leading up to polling day.

from GEO.TV
May 10, 2013 - Updated 1055 PKT

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Suicide Bomber Kills 8 in NW Pakistan

A police officer collects evidence from the site of a bomb blast on University Road in Peshawar, Apr. 29, 2013.

Pakistani police say a suicide bomber killed at least eight people and wounded 45 others in the northwestern city of Peshawar, as violence in Pakistan spikes ahead of the country's elections May 11.

Authorities say Monday's attack was carried out by a man on a motorbike and targeted the convoy of a senior official, who had left the scene just prior to the explosion.  The blast damaged a passing police vehicle and passenger bus.

Among the dead is the son of prominent Afghan cleric Qazi Amin Waqad.  The cleric is a member of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, which is working to bring the Afghan Taliban to peace talks with the government in Kabul.

Reports say the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, making it the latest in a wave of political violence that has killed dozens of people since April 11.  Most of the attacks have targeted candidates from secular parties opposed to the Taliban.

On Sunday, three Taliban bomb attacks in northwest Pakistan killed at least nine people at political campaign offices.

Two more Taliban bomb blasts Saturday targeted secular parties in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi.  At least three people died in those attacks.

The May 11 elections will mark the first time a Pakistani civilian government has served a full term and passed government leadership on to a new civilian administration.

from VOA News
April 29, 2013

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15 dead in Peshawar rally blast on Tuesday

KABUL (PAN): A bomb blast killed at least 15 people and injured dozens others, including women and children, at a political rally of the Awami National Party (ANP in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Tuesday.

The blast in Yakatoot, a congested neighbourhood, came moments after senior ANP leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and others arrived at the scene --- the fourth deadly attack on politicians in three days ahead of May 11 general elections.

Bilour, a former federal minister for railways, escaped with only minor bruises. He was shown on television footage with blood splatters on his shirt after the attack. The dead included a child and five police officials.

Police said it was a suicide attack in which up to six kilograms of explosives along with splinters and ball bearings were used. Live television footage showed vehicles burning and people rescuing the wounded in a cloud of smoke.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the blast. Bashir Bilour, Ghulam Ahmed Bilour’s brother, was also killed in a bombing carried out by the Taliban militants. A local ANA leader Mukaram Shah was killed in a blast also claimed by the TTP on Sunday.

The party on Monday had warned to take legal action against the Election Commission for its decision of decreasing security protocol of its leaders.

from Pajhwok
By Javed Hamim Kakar Apr 16, 2013 - 22:10   

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4 'militants' killed in US drone strike in Pakistan

By Bill Roggio - April 14, 2013 - LWJ

The US killed four "militants" in a drone strike in the jihadist hub of Datta Khel in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. The strike today is the first reported by the US in Pakistan in 23 days.
The CIA-operated, remotely piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired a pair of missiles at a compound in Datta Khel earlier today. Four "militants" were killed in the strike, Pakistani intelligence officials and a local shopkeeper told AFP. The compound that was targeted caught fire after the strike and the bodies of those killed were badly burned.
The exact target of the strike was not disclosed. No senior al Qaeda or Taliban commanders or operatives are reported to have been killed.
Today's strike is just the first this month. The last strike, which also occurred in Datta Khel, took place on March 21. In that airstrike, four "suspected militants and their harborers" were said to have been killed.
The US has launched just 12 drone strikes in Pakistan so far this year, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The number of strikes in Pakistan has decreased since the peak in 2010, when 117 such attacks were recorded. In 2011, 64 strikes were launched in Pakistan, and in 2012 there were 46 strikes.

Continue & Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/04/4_militants_killed_i_1.php

---
from hindustantimes:

At least four militants have been killed by a US drone strike on Sunday in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, security officials said.
The attack took place in Datta Khel town, 35 kilometres (22 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in the lawless North Waziristan region which borders Afghanistan. The area is a stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.
Six US drones flew over the area when one of them fired two missiles at a compound in the Manzarkhel area of the town.
"The drones kept hovering at the compound for a while and then one drone fired two missiles at the time of sunset," a local security official said.
"At least four militants were killed in the strike," said the official.
Another security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar, which lies on the edge of the tribal region, confirmed the attack and the casualties.
An eyewitness said that the compound caught fire after the strike leaving all the bodies burnt.
"The bodies of the militants were severely burnt and it was hard to identify them," Haji Gul Badin, a local shopkeeper, said.

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9 killed as bomb hits bus in NW Pakistan

Police officials inspect a damaged van at the site of a bomb blast in the Mattani Bazaar, on the outskirts of Peshawar April 13, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD, April 13 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed and nine others injured when a bomb targeted a passenger bus in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar on Saturday afternoon, local police said.

Shafi Ullah, Senior Superintendent of Police Rural Peshawar, said that the bomb planted on the bus went off when the bus passed by a market in Mattani area on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

He said that the bus was on its way to the neighboring Kohat district from Peshawar, and most of the
passengers were members of local pro-government militia.

Bomb disposal experts estimated three to five kg explosives were used in the blast.

The injured people including women and kids were rushed to nearby hospital where several of them were said to be in critical condition.

Several vehicles and shops were also damaged in the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

from XINHUA
2013-04-13 20:05:13 

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Militants attack major power station in Pakistan, 7 killed

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (red), in Pakistan (pink). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to Pakistani police officials, at last seven people were killed after dozens of suspected militants attacked a major power station in northwest Pakistan with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

The biggest power station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was damaged following the attack, suspending electricity supply to half of the major city of Peshawar.

It served as a reminder that Pakistan’s leaders have failed to tackle a Taliban insurgency that remains potent despite a series of security crackdown amid the run-up to May 11th general elections.

“They attacked the power station at around 2:30 am (2130 GMT). They killed two officials on the spot and abducted 10 others,” Javed Khan, a senior police official in the area, told AFP.

“They threw five dead bodies of the kidnapped officials in the fields close to the power house on Monday morning. Five others are still missing,” Khan said.

The militants then killed five of the hostages as they were fleeing and were pursued by police, said Javed Khan. The bodies were found about a kilometre away from the grid station. Four of the abducted were still missing.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. But Taliban militants waging a bloody insurgency against the government have staged scores of attacks against security officials, government personnel and civilians.

from KHAAMA
By Mirwais Adeel - 02 Apr 2013, 1:22 pm

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Suicide attack near US Consulate kills 10 Peshawar city

According to Pakistani security officials, at least ten people were killed in Pakistan on Friday when a suicide bomber attacked a paramilitary police convoy.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a blast which also injured at least 31 others.

suicide bomber rode a motorbike up to a security checkpoint a third of a mile from the consulate and detonated 22 pounds of explosives attached to his body, police spokesman Mohammad Faisal said.

The main target of the suicide bomber was Abdul Majeed Marwat, a commander for the Frontier Constabulary. Two members of the force and eight civilians were killed and 15 people were wounded, said the security officials.

This comes as at least 12 people were killed and around 32 others were injured following a car bomb explosion near a camp for internally displaced people in Peshwar.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is rife with Islamic extremists, including the Pakistani Taliban. The city which is gateway to the Khyber Pass and Afghanistan, has been a focus of militant violence.

from KHAAMA
By Mirwais Adeel - 29 Mar 2013, 6:32 pm

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10 killed as blast hits refugee camp in NW Pakistan

Map of Pakistan (Photo credit: Omer Wazir)

PESHAWAR: At least ten people were killed and 25 others were injured in an explosion at the Jalozai camp in northwest Pakistan on Thursday.


The deceased included a women and a child.

At least ten people died in the attack and 20 others were injured, according to DPO Mohammad Hussain who added that the bomb was planted in a car.

He further said that a number of vehicles were destroyed as a result of the blast adding that a crater had formed at the blast site.

Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) official Abdul Haq told Dawn.com that around 35 kilograms of explosive material was used in the attack.

The in-charge of a nearby police security checkpost confirmed that at least ten people had died in the incident.

Earlier, former provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told medi personnel that eight people were killedand scores others were injured in the attack.

The injured were shifted to the District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital Noweshera and Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. The condition of few wounded was reported as critical.

The blast took place at the office gate of a Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) distribution point in Phase V area of Jalozai camp.

The outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant organisation disassociated itself from the attack.

Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesperson for the banned outfit, said that attack on public places targeting innocent people was inhuman and that the Taliban condemned such incidents.

The camp hosts internally displaced persons from the country’s tribal areas.

from DAWN
Zahir Shah Sherazi | 2 hours ago

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Suicide attack on Peshawar court compound leaves 4 dead

According to Pakistani security officials, two suicide bombers attacked a judicial compound in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Monday, killing four people and taking hostages.

The officials further added that the terrorists tried to the enter the courtroom of Additional Sessions Judge Kulsoom Azam who was injured along with others as a result of firing which was followed by a suicide bomber detonating himself.

In the meantime the information minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Mian Iftikhar said some attackers are still thought to be inside the complex, possibly with hostages.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the operation. Police forces sealed off roads around the complex.

Taliban militants, who are close to al Qaeda, are fighting to topple Pakistan’s U.S.-backed government and impose their radical version of Islam.

from KHAAMA
By Sayed Jawad - 18 Mar 2013, 1:34 pm

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One child killed in bomb blast in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, March 10 (Xinhua) -- At least one child was killed on Sunday afternoon when a bomb blast hit Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of Khyber Agency, local media and officials said.
Local media quoting security officials reported that the bomb was planted alongside the wall of a house in the Ashraf Khel area of Landi Kotal, a main town in Khyber Agency.

According to the security officials, the bomb was detonated with a time device that damaged the house partially and killed one child playing in the street.

Soon after the explosion, security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site.

No one was injured in the blast that spread panic among the locals.

Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to arrest the culprits behind the incident.

No group or militant organization claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

from XINHUA
2013-03-10 17:42:44
Editor: Yang Lina

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Five militants killed in Orakzai

PESHAWAR: At least five suspected militants were killed during a security forces operation in the northwestern tribal region of Orakzai, DawnNews reported.

The militants were killed in the tribal region’s Ghundamela area after which security forces took control of the insurgent hideout.

Separately, in Orakzai’s Nadirmela area, a remote-control bomb attack targeted a security forces vehicle, killing one security man and wounding three others.

Orakzai is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in the northwest, where Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants are said to have carved out strongholds.

from DAWN

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Pakistani Taliban threaten to bomb mobile phone shops

(MENAFN - Arab News) Pakistani Taleban have threatened to bomb a mobile phone market in the northwestern city of Peshawar for the "shameless" selling of video clips, ring tones and accessories, officials said yesterday.

Some 60 shopkeepers received letters in the post ordering them to burn the offending stock, including memory cards and speakers for MP3 players, and stick to selling only mobile phones and essential accessories.

DVD and CD shops have in the past been bombed by militants who deemed the businesses "un-Islamic."

In one of the letters, militants wrote: "Do not compel us to send a bomber... stop this shameless business in one week and burn the shameful stuff. Just sell mobile phones, batteries and chargers.

"Your markets have become centers of shamelessness... Our mission is to stop this shameless business and if you do not stop it yourself then we will make an example of you and your market." Officials and police acted quickly to minimize the threat from would-be bombers.

"We have immediately closed down the shops doing ring tones and video clips business, after about 60 shopkeepers received threatening letters from Taleban by mail," local market association secretary general Shakil Ahmed said.

He said parking spots for motorcycles - which are sometimes packed with explosives and detonated - had been moved away from the market and police had been asked to increase security.

Senior police official Faisal Murad said patrols had been stepped up around the market in Peshawar, which sits on the edge of Pakistan's tribal region - a haven for Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

The Taleban has increased its campaign of violence in recent months, leading to fears that violence could mar a general election scheduled to take place by mid-May.

Last month the group proposed talks with Islamabad but the government insists the militants must declare a cease-fire before coming to the negotiating table - a condition militants have rejected.

from MENAFN - Arab News - 03/03/2013  

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Suspected militants with ANA, Pak Army uniforms and explosives arrested in KP

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (red), in Pakistan (pink). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PESHAWAR: Security forces conducted different raids in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday arresting four suspects, including two key commanders, besides seizing uniforms of Pakistani and Afghan National Army along with a huge quantity of arms and explosives.

Security sources told Dawn.Com that the law enforcement agencies conducted a raid in Samar Bagh area of Lower Dir district and seized uniforms of Pakistan Army and the Afghan National Army (ANA) and arrested two suspects, who were shifted for further investigations.

The sources further claimed that seven hand grenades, six detonators, three kilograms of explosives, nine mines, 7 mm gun, one  Kalashnikov and several Chinese made guns were recovered from the suspects.

The officials added that five uniforms of Pakistan Army and Afghan National Army each and the suspects were planning to conduct an attack disguised as ANA or Pakistani army personnel.

In another raid in Nowshera district’s Jaroba area in Pabbi tehsil, law enforcement agencies arrested two suspected key commanders affiliated to a militant group. The arrested men were suspected to be the militant’s main source of weapons supply in Tirah Valley.

The official sources added that the suspected militants were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

— Contribution by Zahir Shah Sherazi

from DAWN

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Blast kills ten in lower Orakzai; TTP claims responsibility

PESHAWAR: At least ten people were killed Friday in a blast near a security check-post in Kalaya, the agency headquarters of the restive northwestern Orakzai tribal region, officials said.

According to local administration official Fazl-i-Qadir, around 30 others were also injured in the remote-controlled bombing, which appeared to target a gathering of the anti-Taliban Ferozkhel tribesmen near the busy Ferozkhel Chowk in Kalaya.

The Ferozkhel tribes, who oppose the Taliban and have also formed anti-Taliban militias, are frequently targeted by the militants.

An army check-post is also located near the site of attack and some officials said it could also be a possible target for the bombing.

The injured were shifted to the agency headquarters hospital and Hangu hospital.

Meanwhile, by claiming responsibility of the attack, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told Dawn.com that they wanted to target Pakistani security forces.

Orakzai is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in the northwest, where Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants are said to have carved out strongholds.

The agency was the original base of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud before he moved to South Waziristan to take up the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership after the death of his predecessor, Baituallah Mehsud.

Unlike the six other tribal agencies, Orakzai does not border Afghanistan. The rugged mountainous territory provides a crucial link for militants operating in other tribal regions, as it borders Khyber and Kurram on the Afghan frontier.

It also borders Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Pakistan’s main northwestern city, as well as the garrison town of Kohat.

from DAWN
Zahir Shah Sherazi
2/8/2013

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Clash between Pakistani Taliban, militia said to kill 31

(Reuters) - At least 31 people were killed when Pakistan Taliban attacked a pro-government militia, according to reports from the two sides on Saturday, but the Taliban were beaten back after hours of fierce fighting.

About 300 Taliban armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades launched the overnight assault in the Maiden area of Tirah, a maze of valleys on a route from Afghanistan to the city of Peshawar, a fighter of the pro-government Ansar ul-Islam militia said.

The militia beat the Taliban back, killing 15 and capturing 8, while three villagers, including an elderly woman, were killed in crossfire, he said.

A Taliban fighter said they killed 13 members of the pro-government militia.

Since 2009, the Pakistani military and pro-government militias have been clawing back territory from the Taliban, who once controlled land a few hours' drive from the capital of Islamabad.

Pakistani government officials say the NATO withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2014 might strengthen the Taliban in Pakistan. The Afghan and Pakistani Taliban are separate groups but strong allies.

from REUTERS
By Jibran Ahmad
PESHAWAR, Pakistan | Sat Jan 26, 2013 2:30pm EST
(Reporting by Katharine Houreld; editing by Andrew Roche)

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Five militants killed in TTP, Ansarul Islam clash in Khyber tribal region

PESHAWAR: Five militants were killed and many others injured in a clash between the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Ansarul Islam (AI) militant groups Friday in Khyber tribal region’s Tirah Valley area whereas an abandoned headquarter of Mullah Nabi Hanfi was blown up in Kando Kallay area of Hangu.
Official sources said that TTP and AI militants clashed in Maidan village of Tirah Valley in Khyber tribal region leaving five militants dead while many others were injured.

The sources said that the death toll was likely to increase as the skirmish had not ended yet.

In another incident security forces blew up an abandoned headquarters belonging to militant commander Mullah Nabi in Hangu district’s Kando Kalley area. There were no casualties reported as the building was already abandoned by the militants.

Meanwhile Peshawar’s Pharipura police seized over a hundred repeater guns and arrested an accused during a raid on a house, according SP
City Khalid Hamdani.

Speaking to media he said that the police also seized more than 20,000 bullets and arrested an Afghan suspect while the godown had been sealed and investigations into other members of the gang were underway.

SP Hamdani further said that the weapons were stored in the raided godown from where they were smuggled to Karachi and other parts of the country.

As for the security arrangements for Eid Miladun Nabi (PBUH) gatherings and processions in Peshawar, more than 1,300 police personnel were deployed to guard the processions routes while the entire city would remain sealed after Friday (jumma) prayers.

Pillion riding and display and use of weapons was banned under Section 144 imposed in the city wehreas mobile phone services also remained suspended for the day.

from DAWN
by Zahir Shah Sherazi
Jan.25.2013.

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Nine ‘Pakistani Taliban fighters’ found dead in North Waziristan

MIRANSHAH: Bullet-ridden bodies of nine ‘Pakistani Taliban fighters’ were found on Monday dumped in the northwestern tribal North Waziristan region near the Afghan border, officials said.

The bodies were found on the side of the road in Peer Kaley village in North Waziristan, a stronghold of militant groups, 10 kilometres east of the district’s main town of Miranshah.

“Unidentified people threw away these nine bodies. No one knows who killed them,” a security official based in Miranshah told AFP.

Local residents confirmed that the bodies had been discovered and a second security official in Miranshah said the identity of the dead was yet not known.

But Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told AFP that all nine were Taliban fighters and accused government security forces of killing them.

“We are proud of their martyrdom, soon we will take revenge for this killing,” he told AFP from an undisclosed location.

Officials on Sunday said they had found the bodies of 21 Levies soldiers who had been kidnapped by militants near the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Pakistan’s seven northwestern tribal districts are rife with homegrown insurgents and are said to be strongholds of Taliban and al Qaeda operatives.

Security officials said fighter jets on Monday bombed the Tirah valley in Khyber, another tribal district, killing at least eight militants.

Islamabad says more than 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism in the country since the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

from DAWN

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Twenty-one kidnapped Levies killed by Pakistani Taliban

PESHAWAR: Pakistani Taliban executed twenty one of the 23 Levies personnel kidnapped earlier this week, police sources told DawnNews in wee hours of Sunday.

The political administration of Frontier Region (FR) Peshawar have confirmed that 21 Levies officials were shot dead by the militant group in a cricket ground near Peshawar’s Jan-e-Khawarr area.

Meanwhile, one kidnapped official who survived the ordeal has been transferred to Lady Reading Hospital in critical condition while another reached home safely after managing to escape from captivity.

On Thursday, 23 personnel were kidnapped after an attack on two levies posts by militants in the Frontier Region Peshawar, police said. The attackers were wearing security forces’ uniforms and were armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons, sources added. Two policemen were also killed in the attacks.

Later, a Taliban spokesman for Dara Adamkhel, Mohammad Afridi, had told Dawn newspaper by phone that his group had carried out the attack.

Afridi had claimed that eight personnel had been killed and 23 had been kidnapped.

The government was seeking local tribal elders’ help to rescue the kidnapped officials and a local Jirga was conducting dialogues with the militant group. However, the talks did not succeed.

from DAWN
by DAWN.COM and Zahir Shah Sherazi | 43 mins ago

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