ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 12, 2008
Taliban Declares "Open War" In Pakistan
Bombing Kills 14 As Officials Probe Whether Top Al Qaeda Leader Was Killed In Tribal Region
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Pakistani demonstrators shout slogans against the latest Pakistani Army action in the tribal regions near the Afghan border during a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, Aug. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
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Supporters of a Pakistan's largest Islamic group Jamat-e-Islami shout slogans as they burn an effigy of the country's President Pervez Musharraf during a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, Aug. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
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Pakistani security officials examine the site of a bomb explosion in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008. A roadside bomb hit a Pakistan air force truck in the northwestern city, killing 14 people as the military pounded insurgent positions in a nearby tribal region. (AP Photo/Muhammad Iqbal)
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Authorities, meanwhile, investigated whether an insurgent reported killed in one of the military operations was a senior al Qaeda commander. The offensive in the Bajur tribal area reportedly has killed 160 people and caused tens of thousands to flee to camps farther north.
The blast in Peshawar, main city of the restive frontier with Afghanistan, escalated the conflict in a region where the new government is struggling to contain increasingly brazen militants. It dealt another blow to efforts to strike peace deals with hard-liners in the Swat Valley and other areas, pacts that U.S. officials contend would strengthen extremists.
"It is an open war between us and them," Pakistani Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar told The Associated Press. "If these kinds of operations continue against us in Swat and in the tribal areas, we will continue this."
Pakistani officials could not be reached for comment or declined to react to the Taliban's statement, but earlier in the day Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said the country would not yield in its attempts to end militancy in its frontier areas.
"It is our firm resolve that we will root out terrorism from Pakistan, and all of our security agencies are working together to achieve this goal," he told the AP.
The bomb hit the air force truck as it crossed a bridge on the outskirts of Peshawar. The blast tore a big hole in the bridge deck and reduced the Mazda truck to a smoldering wreck. The site was littered with debris, blood and a mangled motorcycle.
A provincial government spokesman, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said the explosion killed 14 people, most of them air force personnel, and wounded more than a dozen.
The bombing follows threats from Taliban militants to launch attacks on the government for military operations in the northwestern frontier region bordering Afghanistan, and CBS News' Farhan Bokhari said the security forces were warning Tuesday of an upcoming series of attacks by al Qaeda in Pakistan's north.
An air force statement put its death toll at five airmen, two lower-ranking personnel and two civilian employees. Five air force personnel also were wounded, it said.
A 5-year-old girl in a nearby vehicle was among those killed, said Nisar Khan, a Peshawar police officer. He said police were trying to trace her relatives.
A bomb disposal officer, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, said the bomb had been attached under the bridge and contained between 66 and 88 pounds of explosives.
President Pervez Musharraf condemned the blast in a statement that said he "reiterated the resolve of the nation to remain determined and not yield to pressures created by such heinous crimes."
The increasingly unpopular Musharraf faces possible impeachment by the governing coalition that came to power after February elections. Many Pakistanis blame his alliance with Washington after the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. for rising militancy in the country.
U.S. officials have anxiously watched the new government's effort to grapple with militant movements by using both sticks and carrots. Of particular concern to the West is the government's weak hold on the tribal regions, which are considered Taliban and al Qaeda strongholds.
NATO contends cease-fire deals have allowed militants based in the frontier areas to step up attacks across the border in Afghanistan, while U.S. officials warn that al Qaeda leaders hiding along the border could be plotting attacks on the West.
On Tuesday, a senior Interior Ministry official confirmed that authorities were probing the identity of a suspected militant reported killed this week during the fighting in Bajur.
A senior intelligence official identified the militant as an Egyptian known as Abu Saeed and said he was believed to be a close aide of al Qaeda No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri. He said authorities had intelligence that the militant was killed but had not found the body.
A top al Qaeda commander in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed, who had appeared in videos issued by the terrorist network, is also known as Abu Saeed al-Masri. The ministry official said authorities were trying to determine whether the Abu Saeed reported killed was the same man.
Both Pakistani officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Contacted by the AP, two spokesmen for Afghanistan's Taliban, Qari Yousef Ahmadi and Zabiullah Mujahid, said they had no information about the reported death.
In late July, an al Qaeda explosives and poison expert, Abu Khabab al-Masri, was killed by a suspected U.S. missile strike in the Pakistani border region of South Waziristan.
On Tuesday, Pakistani army helicopter gunships fired on suspected militant positions in Bajur, which is north of Peshawar along the rugged Afghan-Pakistan frontier.
The army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said the fighting in Bajur had killed at least 150 militants in the past week. Officials have reported at least nine paramilitary troops dead.
Independent confirmation of casualties has not been possible, but the fighting caused thousands to flee their homes in Bajur to take refuge in the nearby Lower Dir area.
Kamran Rehman Khan, a top aide to the chief minister of North West Frontier Province, said three government camps were serving some 17,500 people and a fourth was being set up. Leaders of political parties in the region said their own camps held some 45,000 people.
© MMVIII, 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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- Bin Laden prefers all-out war between Taliban and the Pakistani Army. Osama said, "We can eliminate so many peasants at once". His clique Al Qada has plans for Pakistan. It serves as a base for exporting tar heroin. In Waziristan, he can produce the potent narcotic for Addicts all over the world.
- Reply to this comment
- google what Churchill said about islam in 1922. Nothing has changed. What a strange religion.
- Reply to this comment
- bigwhtpony needs a good old fashioned blanket party.
- Reply to this comment
- sorry, I meant speach.
- Reply to this comment
- Gandhi was a best friend of Quaid-Azam so why should the public in both India and Pakistan suffer?
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osted by WinnerIndia at 11:34 AM : Aug 13, 2008
Without any doubt, Gandhi Ji was a very very good friend of "so called Qua-e-de Azam" Ali Jinnah....
But Jinnah certainly was never a friend of Gandhi Ji. Gandhi Ji was so nice that he gave millions of money to Jinnah so he and his Na-*** country can survive and the same non-friendly Jinna was caught quoted many occassions with disrespect "is buddeh ko kub akal aayegi... kab ye buddah samjhega"
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Posted by Good4Always at 01:01 PM : Aug 13, 2008
haa haaa.... Quad azam ka koi speeach hindi/urdu mei nahi tha! aap kahan sey facts ley aatey ho?
O.K just to please you, I quit. I agree with you that Pakistan is a c*u*n*t punt country.. lol
Jai Hind. - Reply to this comment
- SOme of you are narrow-minded. Not all pakistani are taliban or training in a terrorist cell.
It''s time to grab the ox by its horns...
As volatile as the situation is getting in ME, Asia, US, etc... is about to get worse!
So, if you are planning to vote early...think which kind of Commander in Chief we need right now in our country to lead us against this economy and terrorism - Reply to this comment
OK... EVEN IF THEY WERE ABLE TO NUKE US STILL WE HAVE 80% OF INDIA AND 0% OF PAKISTAN LEFT ON PLANET EARTH.. AND THE REST 80% WILL LIVE IN PEACE FOREVER!!!
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Posted by Good4Always at 09:29 AM : Aug 13, 2008
HMMM.... WOW.. POOR IN MATHEMATICS. LOL
YOU CAN''T STOP LOVE TO SPREAD. I KNOW PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO ARE NOT THE TRUE REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR MOTHER LAND; THE REAL BHARAT MATA.
BUT AS I SAID EARLIER THAT THERE ARE SOME EXTREMIST HINDUS AND MUSLIMS IN OUR INDIA, WHICH WE NEED TO DEAL WITH. ARE YOU A HINDU OR A MUSLIM? (CERTAINLY NOT JEW . LOL)- Reply to this comment
YOU MORON.... HAVE AN SURVEY RIGHT HERE TO SEE HOW MANY INDIANS TRUST PAKISTANI YOU WILL KNOW IT....
Posted by Good4Always at 09:17 AM : Aug 13, 2008
Sure, but if that survey will be carried out in your country (U.S), most of the Hindus will vote againsta Pakistanis and vice versa. That''s why I say that you guys must visit India and Pakistan to know the truth.
Media only wants to sell it''s newspapers and run many websites by putting on news full of spices and fire.
Gandhi was a best friend of Quaid-Azam so why should the public in both India and Pakistan suffer?- Reply to this comment
- What an evil religion
Posted by BeBoldin09 at 10:18 PM : Aug 12, 2008
islam is a cult....it''s not a religion - Reply to this comment
- Good! Then take off your burkas and come out of hiding so you can get shot and die like men. You taliwaggers are like our lib democrats - cowards.
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- To AJMarine: My fear is that India and Pakistan will settle their differences with nuclear weapons. WinnerIndia may think glowing in the dark is cute, but not me.
Posted by downsteamjim at 09:59 PM : Aug 12, 2008
I was just surprised that she said they could work their problems out by themselves,......they haven''t done it so far. - Reply to this comment
- Stupid viscious muslims. What an evil religion
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- To AJMarine: My fear is that India and Pakistan will settle their differences with nuclear weapons. WinnerIndia may think glowing in the dark is cute, but not me.
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- I meant "settle" not "set".
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- India and Pakistan can solve their problems. They don''''t need third parties.
Posted by WinnerIndia at 06:41 PM : Aug 12, 2008
I''m not trying to be "smart", but will the two countries ever set the problem of Kashmir? - Reply to this comment
- The new Pakistani government has been very nice to the Taliban in their country. The only result has been that less of the country is safe and murder is becoming the national pastime. Playing ''Ring around the Roses'' with suicide bombers isn''t too smart.
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It''s time for the whole country of Pakistan to pay for its sins. NUKE EM ALL!!!
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Posted by diatreme at 05:57 PM : Aug 12, 2008
I would like to know what''s your country and what are your country''s sins? would you like to share with us?
Please don''t be shy if you have family jewels! lol
India and Pakistan can solve their problems. They don''t need third parties.- Reply to this comment
WinnerIndia
WinnerIndia
It is obvious that you are an Idiot traitor Indian who is being paid by Pakistani ISI ..... or in any shape or form lick regularly Terrorists.... A S S
Unfortunately, there are quite a few Indian who has sold their sole for money. History will tell you that happened in Mogul period.... it is very VERY UNFORTUNATE FOR INDIA TO HAVE TRAITOR LIKE YOU!!
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Posted by Good4Always at 04:48 PM : Aug 12, 2008
NO, IT''S A FREEDOM OF SPEECH. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LABEL SOMEONE AS A TERRORIST. WHO ARE YOU?
WHATEVER I''VE SAID ABOUT PAKISTAN-INDIA RELATIONSHIP, IS THE THINKING OF A COMMON MAN IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN. I WISH THAT YOU SPARE SOME MONEY AND VISIT INDIA AND PAKISTAN AND ASK THEIR COMMON MAN. UNFORTUNATELY LIKE OTHERS, YOU LIVE ONLY ON CBS NEWS WEBSITE WITHOUT GETTING YOUR FACTS CORRECTED. YOU ARE 1000''S OF MILES AWAY FROM OUR COUNTRY AND OUR PEOPLE SO HOW COULD YOU PASS ON COMMENTS WITH LITTLE OR NO KNOWLEDGE? NOW DON''T GIVE ME LECTURES ON INFORMATION AGE; WE ALL KNOW THAT HOW MUCH THE MEDIA IS BIASED TODAY.
LONG LIVE INDIA : LONG LIVE PAKISTAN
LONG LIVE OUR FRIENDSHIP- Reply to this comment
- WHOOOOOPS THERE IT IS!
FORMER ALIES NOW DOUBLE CROSSED AND FIGHTING!
SORT OF LIKE AMERICA AN THE TALIBAN IN 1980!
FRIENDS TODAY DOUBLE CROSSED TOMORROW...
THAT IS HOW WE DO IT! - Reply to this comment
- Pakistan has been allowing these types of actions for years now. If they can''t even control vast areas of their own country how are they going to contain terrorism? The US should be careful when choosing allies. After all wasn''t Osama our ally in the 80''s?
Good Luck Mr President in 2009....who ever you may be! - Reply to this comment
