Don't hit the road!
"Suicide bomber kills 20 in Pakistan; Security woes rise near the border with Afghanistan" by Riaz Khan/Associated Press October 26, 2007
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide car bomber struck a military truck in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing at least 20 people two days after troops were sent to the lawless region to quell pro-Taliban militants.
The blast came a week after the bloody assassination attempt in the southern city of Karachi on Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister who plans to start traveling elsewhere in Pakistan tomorrow.
[Maybe not now?]
The latest attack underlined the worsening security situation in the country, particularly in the conservative tribal region near the border with Afghanistan where militants linked to the Taliban and Al Qaeda increasingly hold sway. The rise of militancy in the region has shaken the authority of President Pervez Musharraf, a key American ally in the US war on terror.
The bomber hit a truck carrying about 45 Frontier Constabulary forces near the main police station in Swat district, where 2,500 paramilitary troops were deployed this week to counter a militant cleric. The blast tipped the truck on its side and detonated ammunition inside.
[With the goal to "pacify the Waziristans once and for all."
What's that mean? KILL them all?]
Police officer Ajab Khan said 20 people were killed and 34 wounded, mostly soldiers. Some bystanders in shops and restaurants along the road were also hit.
Taj Mohammed Khan, 23, a college student who was drinking tea at a nearby restaurant:
"It was a huge explosion. Then the truck was on fire. There were flames, smoke, and people crying. People were scared to go near because bullets were going off."
Police said it was a suicide attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
[Stink!]
The paramilitary troops were deployed to the area Tuesday to confront militants loyal to Maulana Fazlullah, who has called for Taliban-style rule and holy war against the government.
[Better be careful up there! Don't martyr the guy!
Especially if you guys are outgunned, which it sounds like you are.
Those 300 army defectors come back yet?]
Fazlullah's spokesman denied the cleric was involved in the bombing, saying he wanted peace in the region. The cleric was only trying to impose Shariah, or Islamic law, by punishing criminals, including "murderers, abductors, and wine drinkers."
Bhutto, whose grand homecoming to Pakistan after an eight-year exile was shattered by a suicide bombing that killed 136 people, is widely seen as a possible partner of Musharraf in fighting extremism if she fares well in upcoming parliamentary elections.
[So she's in on it, but she's gonna get ripped off by Mushy!]
"Truck Bombing Kills 17 Soldiers in Pakistan" by ISMAIL KHAN
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct. 25 — Seventeen soldiers and three civilians were killed on Thursday when a powerful bomb ripped through a truck in the troubled North-West Frontier Province, witnesses and local officials said.
The killings, near the town of Mingora, came one a day after the provincial government deployed 2,500 troops to the area, known as Swat, to quell the rise of extremism associated with an increasingly powerful religious leader there. The region has been transformed in the past few months from a peaceful tourist area to a place of militancy, with a series of deadly bombings that have been aimed at civilians.
[Yeah, it's only been the last few months since the war got here!
Pffffffftttttttt!!!!!!!
What, was it a TERRORIST TOURIST SPOT?!
What with "Al-CIA-Duh" regrouping and all.
Oh, it was the English kids who came to camp?
This just gets smellier the more you pick at it, readers!]
Investigators rummaged through the wreckage of a truck carrying 42 soldiers of the civil armed force called the Frontier Constabulary to determine the cause of the explosion.
Malik Muhammad Naveed, a senior officer of the Frontier Constabulary, whose force suffered the most casualties:
“I suspect this was the handiwork of a suicide bomber.”
[Yup, either "suiciders" or "gunmen," right?
Pffffffftttttt!]
Witnesses said many wounded soldiers were seen jumping from the overturned, burning truck. At least 25 people, including several civilians, were wounded.
A local religious leader, Maulvi Fazlullah, known as Maulana Radio for preaching Taliban-style Islamic law on his illegal broadcast, had gone underground along with his supporters after the deployment of the troops, people in the area said.
The provincial government announced Wednesday that it had deployed the troops to put down the cleric’s growing power, including his 4,500 armed volunteers.
[Better be careful, Mushy, or you may get tossed!]
Since Mr. Fazlullah has gained a following in the province, militants have blown up at least 100 shops selling popular music and videos. According to one account, there have been more than 50 bomb explosions claiming dozens of lives since the central government began a deployment of troops into the region in July.
[How do these guys get followings when they blow so much stuff up?
Doesn't make sense!]
Mr. Naveed said part of the truck had been struck:
“There is no crater to suggest that it was a roadside bomb. It has been hit from the side.”
The home secretary of the province, Badshah Gul Wazir, also said that the attack was most likely caused by a suicide bomber:
“Investigations are on, but it appears to be the work of a suicide bomber. Whether he walked up to the truck or rammed his Suzuki into it is yet to be determined.”
[How can they not know with so many people around?]
He put the death toll at 20, including 17 from the Frontier Constabulary. The truck was taking Frontier Constabulary troops to a base when it was hit by a speeding car coming from the opposite direction, said a security official. The truck veered off and fell on a rickshaw before bursting into flames.
The security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the blast set off a chain of explosions, apparently caused by ammunition inside the truck, damaging a nearby gas pump and several shops.
Officials said that when the charred truck was removed with a crane, an engine and parts of a Suzuki car were also found there. They said the body parts of the bomber had yet to be found.
[NO BODY PARTS?!? Oooooh, STINK!!!!!!]
Mr. Gul, the provincial home secretary, vowed that the government would press ahead with its plan to restore its control in the area.
Gul, referring to the militants:
“The guys have to surrender. They have criminal cases registered against them. Whether they do so through negotiations or through force is up to them.”
Well, it sounds like force then!
How about LEAVING THEM ALONE instead, assholes?!]
