The Pakistani Taliban claimed credit for today’s deadly suicide attack on a police station in Pakistan’s northwest.
A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a local police station in the village of Norar, just outside of the city of Bannu in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Six policemen and 14 civilians were reported killed in the attack, according to SAMAA.
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed that one of the group’s suicide bombers carried out the attack to avenge US Predator airstrikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
“We claim responsibility for this attack. We will continue such attacks unless the drone attacks are stopped,” Tariq told AFP.
The Taliban often cite the Predator strikes as an excuse to carry out suicide attacks against Pakistani civilians.
The US carried out a Predator strike earlier today, killing four “foreigners” in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan. The US has carried out five such airstrikes this year, and 117 during 2010. The Predators target al Qaeda’s leaders and its external operations network, as well as the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and allied Central and South Asian jihadist groups who support al Qaeda as well as carry out attacks in Afghanistan.
Today’s suicide bombing is the the first major attack by the Taliban since Dec. 25, 2010, when a female suicide bomber detonated her vest at a World Food Program distribution point in the tribal agency of Bajaur, killing 42 people. The Taliban and al Qaeda, under the command of Qari Zia Rahman, have established cells to train female suicide bombers in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Taliban and the allied Lashkar-e-Jhangvi also carried out a series of four suicide attacks in the first two weeks of December 2010 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan, targeting Shia worshipers, a provincial minister, and a tribal meeting.
5 Comments
The FATA Taliban can’t find a ‘solution’ to the ISAF/CIA.
Going after Pakistani civilians and street cops is twisted thinking: Islamabad scarcely thinks of FATA matters as the targets have no clout.
However, the victims have surviving relatives who, at some point, will be goaded into action.
——-
Hence, I take this campaign as a sign of Taliban fear and frustration. Their haven is not safe — and getting more unsafe all the time.
Killing their fellow pakistanis will not stop the US from killing taliban and Al Qaeda operatives. The taliban are becoming desperate.
I think this is the first attack this year in Pakistan. if all major countries not to interfere in domestic affairs of a country that is experiencing conflict, I believe things like this will not happen again.
Why do the Pakistani people continue to put up with this stuff? If these guys blew up one of my family members, I would be out for blood!
It’s a shame people are so easily manipulated into becoming suicide bombers. Most come from very deprived areas, and are given money, gifts, and status for a while as a reward. This makes it very difficult for them to back out later.