Friday massacre at mosques: Deobandi Taliban massacre 70 namazis
More than 70 people including children have been killed in bomb and grenade attacks on two mosques in northwest Pakistan, according to reports.
Up to 70 people have been killed in two attacks on mosques in north-western Pakistan.
A teenage suicide bomber struck a mosque packed with Friday worshippers, killing dozens and injuring 80 others in the restive Darra Adam Khel region of northwest Pakistan today, in one of the country’s worst terrorist attacks this year. The bomber struck while Jumma prayers were underway today in the mosque at Attariwal village in Akhorwal area, 45 km south of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa capital Peshawar.
Officials said the bomber was a youth aged about 17 or 18 years who managed to enter the mosque, located near the ‘hujra’ (guesthouse) of pro-government tribal elder Malik Wali Khan.Official Shahidullah Khan said authorities received warnings about such attacks almost on a daily basis.Kohat Commissioner Khalid Umarzai too told the media that authorities were expecting such attacks due to operations being conducted by security forces against the Taliban in Darra Adam Khel and nearby tribal areas.The local chapter of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.
Up to 300 people were attending Friday prayers when the explosion tore threw the crowd.
The mosque collapsed, leaving many of the dead and injured under the rubble.
Several children were among the victims.
The death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are retrieved from beneath the debris.
It is the deadliest attack in Pakistan in two months.
Houses near the mosque were also damaged, including that of Wali Mohammad, the leader of a local pro-government militia. Officials said the mosque was owned by a pro-government tribal elder who could be the target of the attack but it was not clear whether he was hit.
That militia clashed repeatedly with local Taliban militants until reportedly cutting a deal earlier this year.
A local elder blamed the Taliban, suggesting it could have been acting to punish Mohammad’s militia.
The first deadly blast was followed by an attack on a second mosque in the village of Suleman Khel on the outskirts of Peshawar, which killed several people.
Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that attack was a “reaction to the successes” of an anti-Taliban militia, known as a lashkar, in Badhber.
“No police or government can be successful without the people’s support. We need these lashkars. We will support them to eradicate terrorism,” said Hussain, whose only son was killed by militants earlier this year.
Allied to insurgents in Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban have carried out scores of attacks over the past three years against army, government and foreign targets and allegedly trained the Pakistani-American who attempted to blow up a car bomb in Times Square this year.
The Taliban and other militant outfits have often struck mosques where their enemies gather, unconcerned that this may make them unpopular in this Muslim nation.
According to the Christian Science Monitors report
In the town of Dara Adam Khel, in Pakistan’s northwest territory, a young suicide bomber detonated his load amid 300 worshipers during Friday prayers. He killed at least 67 people and injured more than 100.
On Friday evening, four grenades were hurled inside a mosque in the Suleman Khel village, which is on the outskirts of Khyber tribal region. The blasts killed at least four people.
The bombing in Dara Adam Khel appeared to be targeting the Akhoorwaal tribe because it has been resisting Taliban expansion. Pakistani Taliban claimed the responsibility.
“There is no right for traitors of mujahids and Islam to live,” read a message from the Taliban, quoting notorious leader Tariq Afridi. Mr. Afridi is the commander of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP), which is commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban and is linked with Al Qaeda.
Taliban targets: mosques and tribal elders
The attack was seemingly designed for maximum impact, as the bomb was detonated in the middle of Friday prayers, and combined two increasingly common Taliban targets: the mosque and thejirga (council of tribal elders). The targeted mosque was inside the hujra, or congregation spot, of the tribal council leader.
The suicide attack was one of the deadliest in a series of attacks by Al Qaeda and Taliban across Pakistan in which hundreds of people have lost their lives this year.
Taliban commanders are trying desperately to strengthen their hold across the region, say analysts. The US continues drone attacks on the semi-autonomous tribal region of North Waziristan along Pakistan-Afghanistan border while pressuring Pakistan to increase operations there. What’s more, Pakistani security forces are ramping up operations in other tribal regions.
The bombing was meant to “terrorize tribesmen,” says Brig. Mehmood Shah (ret.), a Peshawar-based analyst. “Taliban want to control the region so they are targeting locals who have raised voice against them. They want to eliminate the dissent,” he says.
“It is the worst revenge tactic and showing that they are desperate and weakened,” says Mr. Shah.
Dara Adam Khel lies about 31 miles south of Peshawar and links Orakzai and Khyber tribal region in the west through a hilly terrain. Pakistan’s security forces have been pounding the area with bombs in a bid to rout militants in the ongoing operation. The forces have also been going after them in Khyber region where the militants attack NATO supply convoys.
Tribesman remain defiant
Eyewitnesses of the mosque attack described the moments before the blast occurred.
“I saw a young boy walking toward the worshipers. The moment he raised his arms, he exploded,” says Mohammad Nasir.
The attack triggered terror alerts and warnings for additional attacks by Taliban across the country, especially in the northwest.
“It’s a cowardly act. The terrorists might try to carry out more attacks but we are not afraid,” says Provincial Minister Mian Iftikhar, whose only son was assassinated by the Taliban three months ago. “It’s a long battle against terrorists and extremists. They can be defeated once we remain united.”
“The US, Afghanistan, and Pakistan should have to continue to wage war to eliminate terrorism,” he says.
In Dara Adam Khel, members of the Akhoorwaal tribe vowed to continue fighting the Taliban.
“We will not let the sacrifices of our tribesmen be in vain. We won’t let them convert our future generation into terrorists and destabilize the country. We will start mobilizing other tribes in our war against terrorists,” says tribesman Javed Ur Rehman Akhoorwaal.
US denounces Pakistan mosque attacks as ‘brutal’
WASHINGTON — The United States Friday condemned two attacks on mosques in Pakistan, saying they “brutally targeted innocent people” at places of worship.
“Whoever was responsible has demonstrated a clear disregard for the Pakistani people and for the peaceful religion they practice,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
“The United States will continue to work with the government of Pakistan to combat violent extremism.”
The comments came after a suicide bomber destroyed a Pakistani mosque on Friday, killing 61 people during the main weekly prayers in Akhurwall village, part of the semi-tribal northwest area of Darra Adam Khel.
The deadliest attack in two months in the country on the front line of the US-led war on Al-Qaeda was followed by a grenade assault on a second mosque in the same area which killed at least four.
“The United States condemns today’s two bombings that took place at mosques in Pakistan which brutally targeted innocent people at worship,” Toner said.(AFP)
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Afghan Taliban threaten to kill anyone talking peace
KABUL: Scribbled notes from Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar have surfaced in mosques all over Afghanistan’s Pakhtun heartland, threatening death to anyone who takes up a government offer to negotiate for peace, according to a long-time Taliban member.
Deobandi terrorists have no regard for anything. They are destroying mosques, killing children and old aged people. Can this be called Jihad? But we have people like Mufti Naeem and Taqi Usmani for creating confusion. When civilians are killed, they call it a work of Black Water and when people of law enforcement agencies are killed and attacker caught red handed, they call it a reaction of Drone attacks and Govt. policies. It’s shame or rather sin to call such people Scholars after looking at their justification of this bloodshed.
Major militant attacks in Pakistan in 2010
A look at some of the major attacks in Pakistan so far in 2010:
— Nov. 5: Suicide bomber strikes Sunni mosque in Darra Adam Khel in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 67 during Friday prayers.
— Sept. 1: Triple Taliban suicide attack on a Shiite Muslim procession kills 65 in the southwestern city of Quetta.
— Aug. 23: Three bomb attacks in northwest Pakistan kill at least 36.
— July 9: A pair of suicide bombers kills 102 people and wounds 168 in the Mohmand tribal region.
— July 2: Twin suicide bombers attack Pakistan’s most revered Sufi shrine in Lahore, killing 47 people and wounding 180.
— May 29: Two teams of seven militants attack two mosques of the Ahmadi minority sect in Lahore, killing 97.
— April 19: A suicide bomber apparently targeting police at a conservative Islamic party rally in Peshawar kills 23.
— April 18: Two burqa-clad suicide bombers attack refugees lined up to register for food in Kohat district in the northwest, killing 41.
— April 5: A suicide bomber attacks a rally of an anti-Taliban political party in Lower Dir district, killing 45.
— March 13: Two suicide bombers targeting army vehicles in Lahore kill more than 55 and wound more than 100.
— Feb. 18: A bomb tears through a mosque in the Khyber tribal region, killing 29 people and wounding 50 more.
— Feb. 5: Two bombs targeting the Shiite Muslim minority sect in Karachi kill 33 and wound 176.
— Jan. 1: A suicide bomber drives a truckload of explosives into a volleyball field in Lakki Marwat district, killing at least 97 people.
The Canadian Press
Daily Times Editorial: Mosques stained red with blood
Terror always seems to be lurking in every nook and corner for the people of Pakistan. Friday, one of Islam’s holy days, has been stained red with blood too many times and the massacre in Darra Adam Khel is no exception. With 67 dead — mercilessly including 11 children — and more than 100 worshippers injured, the suicide attack in Waali Mosque is one of the deadliest this year. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have denied responsibility for the attack, citing it as one carried out by “foreign hands”. Quite a ridiculous claim considering that the TTP’s modus operandi has been to target the masses when they are at their most vulnerable; holy places, whether mosques, shrines or Ahmedi places of worship have been favoured targets for their blood sport. Denying responsibility due to the political fallout of such incidents by no means means that the militants have turned over a new leaf. The fact that the mosque was a regular meeting place for leaders belonging to an anti-Taliban lashkar — none of whom are reported as being amongst the dead — shows the motive that the TTP would have: trying to silence opposing voices.
Darra Adam Khel was not enough for the militants. Another mosque in the Badaber area of Peshawar was attacked with hand grenades tossed inside the mosque’s compound. Four fatalities, some 24 injured. With a slight lull in the terror storm, Pakistan was beginning to harbour illusions that the militants had been restrained. However, this seems more like a deliberate pause on the terrorist’s part as the attack at Darra Adam Khel has seen them come out once again in full force. Also, we should not assume that the militants are confined to carrying out their activities in just FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — where a cluster of attacks have taken place — as terror cells have been shown to exist throughout the country. More vigilance is needed and more resources need to be given to those who are entrusted with law enforcement in areas sensitive to terror attacks. Local police and security apparatus need to be on even higher alert, especially when gatherings in places of worship convene. It is imperative to pre-empt such attacks before they happen and that is why our intelligence agencies need to step up. Otherwise, once a suicide bomber is deployed, he is almost unstoppable.
The militants have been on the receiving end of a pounding by army offensives and massive US aerial drone strikes, of late concentrated in North Waziristan (NW). A recent report by the Wall Street Journal indicates that these strikes are forcing the insurgents to find sanctuaries elsewhere, particularly in Kurram and Orakzai Agency, where they are said to be regrouping. Another view also exists, one that claims the militants are being allowed to leave, rather than being forced. With the army’s policy of saving the Afghan Taliban for a rainy day, it is said that the militants are being given safe passage to leave NW and relocate before a full-scale operation is launched. If this is true, the military should not be surprised if terror attacks continue. *
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\117\story_7-11-2010_pg3_1
Follow up:
Darra blast toll reaches 95
PESHAWAR: Death toll from the suicide attack on a mosque in Darra Adam Khel reached 95, as some injured people termed the attack an outcome of a rivalry between two terrorist groups. Barkatullah, 25, a student at a religious seminary in Akhurwall area, who had been injured in the attack, told Daily Times two terrorist groups – the Tariq Afridi group, which is a part of the TTP and loyal to Hakimullah Mehsud, and the Momin group – had developed serious differences. He said supporters of the Momin group had helped security forces eliminate Darra Adam Khel’s Taliban leader Tariq Afridi’s network from the Akhurwall area. Another injured, Mir Zaman Khan, said he had heard that the top commander of the Momin group, identified as Shaukat Afridi, had also been killed in the blast. Meanwhile, the condition of several injured is said to be stable. Muhammad Younas, a dispenser by profession who was injured in the blast, said that as the imam of the mosque started the main sermon before the Friday prayers, the teenage bomber blew hismelf up in the lawn of the mosque. akhtar amin
a unfortunate that the country and the nation and the people who are bathing in blood every single day is the one which is the den of the terrorists. While watching this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/india/2010/11/101106_obama_taj_message_sz.shtml
I thought what if Napak Army had not been supporting terrorism in the world , how indebted world would have had been to Pakistan for fighting against the terrorists.
I am sure the end of this war will come when people of Pakistan with the help of whole world stand against the real perpetrators of this terrorism i.e. the generals of military mafia. World mourns the people died in “Taj Hotel” and they don’t know about the people dead in Data Darbar and Baba Fareed Mazar.
The time is not far off when after defeating the napak army laced with nuclear arsenal , people of Pakistan will be welcoming the world leaders in Data Darbar to show them how they defeated the terrorism.