Suicide Blast Kills 15 In Pakistan
Pakistan Facing Increasing Violence As Al Qaeda Settles In Along Border
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Suicide Blast Rocks Islamabad
CBS News RAW: A suicide bomber killed at least 13 people in Pakistan's capital city, according to Pakistani police. The blast occurred near a crowded demonstration at the Islamabad courts.
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Pakistan Called Terror Haven
A new intelligence report says a strengthened al Qaeda is increasing efforts to attack inside the United States and has shifted its base of operations into Pakistan. Elizabeth Palmer reports.
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Expert On Al Qaeda, Russia
Harry Smith speaks with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, about al Qaeda's recent expansion in Pakistan and the changing relationship between the United States and Russia.
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Angry workers of the Pakistan People's party chant anti-government slogans after a suicide attack on July 17, 2007 in Islamabad. A suicide bomber killed 15 people at a rally for Pakistan's suspended chief justice Tuesday, police said, ratcheting up tension in a country already reeling from a burst of violence by Islamic extremists. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)
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A person injured in a suicide attack is helped at the site of the explosion in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 17, 2007. (AP Photo)
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Police cordon off the area of a suicide attack in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 17, 2007. A suicide bomber killed 15 people at a rally for Pakistan's suspended chief justice Tuesday, police said, ratcheting up tension in a country already reeling from a burst of violence by Islamic extremists. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)
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This video still shows people carrying an injured man to an ambulance after a suicide attack in Islamabad, Pakistan, on July 17, 2007. (CBS/APTV)
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Pakistani tribal people collect their belongings from a security post destroyed by militants in Miran Shah, capital of Pakistani tribal area along Afghanistan's border, July 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Abdullah Noor)
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War On Terror
Complete coverage of the military's battle against terrorism.
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Islamabad Mosque Siege
Pakistani troops storm Red Mosque held by Islamic extremists.
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Fast Facts
Pakistan
Learn about the people, economy and history.
Pakistani security officials tell CBS News that the head of the suspected bomber had been found at the scene. CBS News' Farhan Bokhari reports local television was showing images of body parts strewn about the area where the rally was taking place.
The attack came before a verdict in a legal battle that has pitched judge Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and which could determine the U.S.-backed military ruler's political future.
Musharraf condemned the blast, which followed a string of suicide attacks on security forces and the storming of Islamabad's radical Red Mosque, as a "terrorist act."
However, Chaudhry's supporters accused authorities of being behind the latest mayhem in the capital.
Chaudhry was still in a car heading toward the district court in Islamabad to address lawyers who have led mass protests against his suspension when the attacker struck at about 8:30 p.m.
Kamal Shah, a top Interior Ministry official, said 15 people were killed and 44 others wounded. Opposition party activists, police officers and bystanders were believed to be among the victims.
Three security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record, said it was a suicide attack and that the severed head of the victim had been found.
The attacker blew himself up on a tree-lined street leading to the large tent erected next to the court just as hundreds of people converged on the area, which was also busy with evening shoppers.
Police ran yellow tape around the scene of the blast, where pools of blood, pieces of flesh and scattered shoes lay on the asphalt next to a blood-spattered car.
"I was not far away from the stage set up for the chief justice when I heard a big bang," said Tahir Abbas, a lawyer who had come to attend the rally.
The attacker struck next to stalls set up by Pakistan's two main opposition parties of exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
Chaudhry was still several kilometers (miles) away at the time and arrived shortly afterward at the scene, where police ushered his vehicle toward another entrance to the tent.
He spoke briefly with lawyers, who said he had offered prayers for the victims, but canceled his speech and left.
"This was an attack on the chief justice," said Munir Malik, one of Chaudhry's lawyers.
Asked who could be behind it, Malik accused Pakistan's intelligence agencies, and said the government wanted "to get rid of the chief justice."
However, Raja Pervez Ashraf, a leader of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, said the attacker had targeted her activists.
"Most among the dead and injured are our supporters," Ashraf said.
Television footage showed supporters of Bhutto wailing with grief and chanting slogans against the government.
Musharraf "condemned in the strongest terms the latest terrorist act which took place in Islamabad," the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
He ordered an immediate inquiry and appealed to the public "to remain calm, vigilant and assist the authorities in unearthing the culprits and bringing them to justice."
Shah said it was too early to "raise a finger at someone" in connection with the attack.
Some analysts and diplomats expect Bhutto to team up with Musharraf in a power-sharing government after elections due later this year. She was the only opposition leader to voice strong support for the crackdown on the Red Mosque.
Bombings and suicide attacks blamed on Islamist extremists had already killed more than 100 people since Musharraf's decision to attack militants holed up in the mosque and deploy troops in militant strongholds near the Afghan border.
Leaders of the Taliban and al Qaeda have called for revenge attacks, and the latest suicide blast killed three soldiers in the volatile North Waziristan region earlier Tuesday.
However, there had been no indication that they would target Chaudhry, whose refusal to resign in the face of charges of misconduct has catalyzed opposition to Musharraf's seven-year rule.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 90 CommentsWhat will the U.S. response be when we get hit with a nuke?
What will the U.S. response be when we get hit with a nuke?
Posted by NavyRetired2 at 08:24 AM : Jul 17, 2007
Well, if Bush is President - attack and invaded Luxembourg!
That al Qaeda has always been along the Pakistan Afghanistan border ...
How is this news to anyone?
This is not even news to Bush, as I am certain that he has always known that al Qaeda has always been along the Pakistan Afghanistan border (can he be THAT stupid?) ... I am certain that he thought that Iraq looked like a "better, easier" target (though not the right target with regard to eliminating terrorist groups), perhaps thinking initially that a war in Iraq could be won :-)
The ambassador answered us that [the right] was founded on the Laws of the Prophet (Mohammed), that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to heaven.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/jeff_quran.htm
....that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
Go into Northern Pakistan and clean the vermin out. If the terrorists strike us from this haven the blame will 100% be on Bush - if you know where they are it is our right to kill them. Pakistan is incapable, unable, and too powerless to assist.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry
non muslims of the world unite... fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside...
I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair's bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770
Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm
thank you demonic-rats%u2026
New Video From Al Qaeda Number Two
"You must be patient and steadfast," he says. "Rejoice, for victory is near, with Allah's permission, and the herds of crusaders have begun to split up and their sole concern has become searching for a way out."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/07/new-video-from-.html
Sentencing them, Judge Charles Openshaw said the men had engaged in "cyber jihad", encouraging others to kill "kuffars" or non-believers.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070705142313.zr9n5g5g&show_article=1
45 Muslim doctors planned US terror raids
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/05/nterror405.xml
The question is - for the neo-cons and the Republican party is it better to use the threat of alQaeda to corrupt the Constitution and consolidate power than it is to actually eliminate them? Bush/Cheney's actions speak louder than their political propaganda.
regroup.
Now that the polls are down sooo low, out comes the reports on OBL and Al Qaeda and "they're sneaking in here." H#ll, they are walking in on our southern border, and in the future, they will be able to come in planes, after we train them to fly.
OSL is used as the boogie man, even with old tapes. The promises after 9/11 were nothing more than hot air that sounded good. The OIL was what kept the issue focused and left the ammunition depots open for pilfering. Where does all these car bombs keep getting their explosives from?
Unfortunately, when they do get ready, all of this B.S. that has been put forth about ths "war on terror" will be worthless. Why isn't an all-out man-on-the-moon effort being put forth to secure our borders and ports? Because Bush-supporting big business depends on the cheap, Mexican illegals for slave labor. They aren't interested in real security, only money.
Q Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? Also, can you tell the American people if you have any more information, if you know if he is dead or alive? Final part -- deep in your heart, don't you truly believe that until you find out if he is dead or alive, you won't really eliminate the threat of --
THE PRESIDENT: Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all. Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not; we haven't heard from him in a long time. And the idea of focusing on one person is -- really indicates to me people don't understand the scope of the mission.
Terror is bigger than one person. And he's just -- he's a person who's now been marginalized. His network, his host government has been destroyed.
So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you.
You're doin' a heckuva job Georgie!
Q But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban.
But once we set out the policy and started executing the plan, he became -- we shoved him out more and more on the margins. He has no place to train his al Qaeda killers anymore. And if we -- excuse me for a minute -- and if we find a training camp, we'll take care of it. Either we will or our friends will. That's one of the things -- part of the new phase that's becoming apparent to the American people is that we're working closely with other governments to deny sanctuary, or training, or a place to hide, or a place to raise money.
but you got the wrong country!
Al-Qaeda is in Afghanistan & Pakistan
We invade Iraq, which had no terrorist ties (until after we invaded it), and the countries we don't plan to invade any time soon, if ever, (Pakistan and Saudi Arabia), are the largest supporters/havens for terrorism.
Talk about missing the mark completely (to the tune of 600+ billion dollars).
Can Bush even P.I.S.S in a toilet without getting it all over the floor?
Sheesh!
He spreads disaster and terrorism everywhere he goes. He is worse than Typhoid Mary.
Alexander, Lamar- (R - TN)
Allard, Wayne- (R - CO)
Chambliss, Saxby- (R - GA)
Cochran, Thad- (R - MS)
Coleman, Norm- (R - MN)
Collins, Susan M.- (R - ME)
Cornyn, John- (R - TX)
Craig, Larry E.- (R - ID)
Dole, Elizabeth- (R - NC)
Dominici, Pete- (R - NM)
Enzi, Michael B.- (R - WY)
Graham, Lindsey- (R - SC)
Hagel, Chuck- (R - NE)
Inhofe, James M.- (R - OK)
McConnell, Mitch- (R - KY)
Roberts, Pat- (R - KS)
Sessions, Jeff- (R - AL)
Smith, Gordon H.- (R - OR)
Stevens, Ted- (R - AK)
Sununu, John E.- (R - NH)
Warner, John- (R - VA)
Posted by drummer94 at 10:02 AM : Jul 17, 2007
...............
LOL!!!
Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me! George W. would easily get those two words confused.
(We all know he's the impotent one for our country)
As long as the information provided is fact checked to be correct, then I don't see an issue.
I think the main issue with Iraq was that the gov't created false information, and used questionable leads to justify invading the country.
I was one of the maybe 15% who thought that the Iraq war was just going to handcuff us globally, however all the DEM politicians were worried about being called unpatriotic, and they had to join that BUSH created bandwagon of "with us or against us."
Bush will go down as one of the single stupidest presidents in history, as he didn't even realize what would happen (when most historians could have wrote you a road map.)
We are stuck in Iraq for at least another 5 years. If we cut and run now, the country will be worse than before. We will really have created a safe haven for terrorists to plan and attack the USA. Bush put us there, and we can't bail now (we would never regain credibility.)
It's funny in a cruel sadistic sort of way. We caused global terrorism to increase because of our inept, under-researched invasion. I hope that our representatives and BUSH are proud of their irresponsible actions.
It has been the history of the US to hand out money in aid without getting any results. Our policy should be: RESULTS FIRST; THEN MONEY (AID).
Alexander, Lamar- (R - TN)
Allard, Wayne- (R - CO)
Chambliss, Saxby- (R - GA)
Cochran, Thad- (R - MS)
Coleman, Norm- (R - MN)
Collins, Susan M.- (R - ME)
Cornyn, John- (R - TX)
Craig, Larry E.- (R - ID)
Dole, Elizabeth- (R - NC)
Dominici, Pete- (R - NM)
Enzi, Michael B.- (R - WY)
Graham, Lindsey- (R - SC)
Hagel, Chuck- (R - NE)
Inhofe, James M.- (R - OK)
McConnell, Mitch- (R - KY)
Roberts, Pat- (R - KS)
Sessions, Jeff- (R - AL)
Smith, Gordon H.- (R - OR)
Stevens, Ted- (R - AK)
Sununu, John E.- (R - NH)
Warner, John- (R - VA)
What we have is another yuk-yuk telling us al Qaeda is lurking in the mountains of Pakistan...rather like Rumsfeld telling us that the WMDs are 'east, west, north and south of Baghdad.'
We invade Iraq, which had no terrorist ties (until after we invaded it), and the countries we don't plan to invade any time soon, if ever, (Pakistan and Saudi Arabia), are the largest supporters/havens for terrorism.
Talk about missing the mark completely (to the tune of 600+ billion dollars).
Can Bush even P.I.S.S in a toilet without getting it all over the floor?
Sheesh!
Posted by USAyesterday at 09:55 AM : Jul 17, 2007
-USAyesterday, why no one has initiated a dialogue. That is what we need -a dialogue- not a plane filled with bombs, troops throw on them and kill their kids and destroy their schools... The extremist attitudes of Rotting Right Wingers Republicans and their masters in fact the AIPAC, PNAC etc, combined with the ignorance and arrogance of those undiplomatic hibrus Islamic extremists, always lead to unfotunate loss of life as side casualties and more skepticism, not to say, hatred toward western societies and beliefs.
did they move those 'monkey bars' to setup the pakistan training camp ... or did they already have a set?
Posted by bobnjersey at 12:01 PM : Jul 17, 2007
*ROFL*
Thanks for the laugh.
"Al qaida training camps" sounds much more sinister than "a bunch of guys meeting in a shack."
George Bush handed him a $10 billion check so he would publicly renounce support for the Taliban. Pakistan actively supported the Taliban and "al qaida" (whatever that's supposed to be) before he got the money, and, it still does.
The majority of Pakistanis have far more in common with the Taliban and "al qaida" (whatever that's supposed to be) than they do with George Bush or ExxonMobil.
Hard to "bomb people back into the stone age" who are already living in the stone age.
The "war on terror" as being conducted by the Bush administration is accomplishing nothing other than enriching Bush and his war mongering-profiteering cronies.
Or ask why we should remain in Iraq if it isn't keeping the terror threats 'over there' as advertised?...
Or a million other questions about important issues rather than how much $ each candidate has raised, or how much they pay for their haircuts...
Posted by barbaraf4 at 09:03 AM : Jul 17, 2007
yep... leftists lead The Chorus of Useful Idiots
Leftist Support of Islamist Terror
Most shocking is the outright sympathy of many leftist-liberals for Islamic fascism. They said little about the murder of 500 Russian civilians, many of them children, but screamed week after week because some Arab savage at Abu Ghraib prison wore a bag on his head. They cared nothing about the beheadings committed by the Islamo-savages or the execution of 12 Nepalese. David Horowitz gives an excellent discussion of who this "Left" really is. He calls them neo-communist, I call them Leftist-Liberals. I'm a classical Liberal myself and I feel it's time to remove this irrational element that has been allowed to poison our good name.
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/list.htm
The Chorus of Useful Idiots
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/thornton.htm
Supporters of Muslim Terrorism on the un-Religious Left
http://www.sullivan-county.com/id2/index1.htm
Exposing Leftists' Radical Islam Connection
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/left_islam.htm
Definitions, Lies, and Losing Your Head
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/def_lies.htm
Shocking (Liberal) Silence
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/leftist_silence.htm
See no evil: Why the Left is blind to suffering
http://www.sullivan-county.com/immigration/no_evil.htm
Posted by bobnjersey at 12:01 PM : Jul 17, 2007
If I see one more clip of that monkey bar training exercise, I am going to explode.
Posted by grazinggoat at 11:43 AM : Jul 17, 2007
hahahahahaha
From May of 1801 to June 10, 1805, sailors and Marines of the young American nation fought battles immortalized in a line of the Marine Hymn: %u201Cto the shores of Tripoli.%u201D As American forces approached Tripoli on land threatening to capture it, Karamanli suddenly became interested in negotiations. The war ended with a treaty exchanging prisoners, Americans giving Karamanli another $60,000 in ransom and an agreement from the Muslims to cease attacks on U.S. ships.
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
Posted by grazinggoat at 11:43 AM : Jul 17, 2007
hahahahahaha
But for a Muslim to keep his word to an infidel at the expense of opportunities to expand Islamic power is the Islamic equivalent of a mortal sin. In 1807, Muslim pirate attacks on American ships began anew. As a result Americans led by President James Madison fought Algerians in the Second Barbary War in 1815, leading to another treaty under which the Muslims paid American $10,000 for damages. The Algerian ruler almost immediately repudiated the new treaty after the U.S. departure and again began piracy and the enslavement of captured Christian sailors necessitating an 1816 Anglo-Dutch shelling of Algiers and ultimately the colonization of Algeria in 1830 and Tunisia in 1881 by France and Libya in 1911 by Italy. By then most of the Islamic world was under Christian domination. With the Ottoman Empire defeated in WW1, secularist Turkish rebels in 1923 overthrew the last Islamic Caliphate, destroying the pinnacle of Islamist power and ending a line of succession allegedly reaching back to Mohammed.
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?6bdec278-6a71-4436-bc4d-29d1c54b0ad7
I wonder what the Pakistani President's going to do about this bombing in the capitol. I'm sure our guys would LOVE the chance to take them out, considering we've had intel on their activities for years but been handcuffed. But does Mushareff (sp) have the guts?
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