Pakistan Security Brief

Jamiat-e-Ahli Hadith chief killed in Srinagar; Fifty-four militants killed in Mohmand; Seven militants killed in Orakzai; Six militants killed in Darra Adam Khel; Three accused of being U.S. spies killed by Taliban; Clashes in Khyber continue; TTP claims responsibility for suicide attack in Quetta; Blast in Peshawar injures one; Hand grenade attack in Karachi.

Blast in Srinagar

• In the first IED blast in Srinagar since 2009, the Jamiat-e-Ahli Hadith chief, Maulvi Shaukat Ahmad Shah, was killed by a blast in Srinagar as he entered a mosque in the Maisuma area. Dawn reports that “There were no immediate claims of responsibility but police blamed the killing on Islamic rebels fighting New Delhi’s rule in the Himalayan territory.” The exact cause of the explosion is unknown, though police allege that an improvised explosive device (IED) was planted on a bicycle outside of the rear entrance to the mosque. The Hindu also reports that “Mr. Shah was also actively involved in separatist politics and was very close to JKLF chief Mohammad Yasin Malik.” Following the attack, hundreds gathered in the streets to protest against his killing.[i]

FATA

• Fifty-four militants were killed by Pakistani security forces in Mohmand Agency on Thursday. Maqsood Hasan, a deputy administrator in the region, said that, “Pakistani troops were doing routine patrolling in the Baizai area of Mohmand when they came under attack. The troops returned fire and killed 10 insurgents, but also called for backup in the air. The army sent helicopters and jets to target militant positions, killing 44 more insurgents and wounding several others.” Hasan also stated that two or three other civilians were killed in the area after a mortar shell landed on their house. Four soldiers were also reportedly killed in the initial exchange of fire.[ii]

• The News reports that seven militants were killed in a clash with security forces in the Dabori area of Orakzai on Thursday. However, a spokesperson for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hafiz Saeed, refuted the claims that a clash even occurred.[iii]

• Six militants were killed after their hideouts were shelled by security forces in Darra Adam Khel on Thursday. A route frequented by the TTP in the Bulandra area was targeted, resulting in the six deaths. Meanwhile, Dawn reports that two tribesmen were wounded when insurgents fired rockets from the Darra Adam Khel area at a funeral being held in the Jammu area of Kohat on Thursday.[iv]

• The bodies of three men killed by the Taliban for allegedly working as U.S. spies were found in North Waziristan on Friday. Notes which accompanied the bodies claimed that “the men provided information to the U.S.” and cautioned that “others who did the same would face a similar fate.”[v]

• Clashes in Khyber Agency between fighters of the Zakha Khel tribe and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) continued on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of three tribesmen and three LI militants. Meanwhile, fighters of the Ansarul Islam (AI) attacked three hilltops in the Sandapal and Aka Khel areas which had previously been under the occupation of LI. The deputy chief of AI Maulana Ezatullah stated, “Two of our volunteers have been killed while another one was injured in Akakhel area.” The News also cites unconfirmed reports, which “suggest that more than 20 people were killed and as many injured.”[vi]

TTP Claims Responsibility for Attack in Balochistan

• Dawn reports that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the suicide blast in Quetta, which killed a police constable and injured nine others on Thursday. An unidentified militant opened fire and drove a vehicle filled with explosives into the outside of the home of Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) Investigations of Police Wazir Khan Nasir. DIG Nasir was wounded in the attack, as were his two children.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• A blast in front of police headquarters in the Rehman Baba area of Peshawar injured a local police official. SHO Sharkhi Sattar Khan was wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle, injuring him and another security officer.[vii]

Explosion in Karachi

• On Thursday, a hand grenade blast at the Rainbow Centre in Saddar injured an Intelligence Bureau (IB) inspector and injured nineteen others. Local officers report that, “two men on motorcycles threw a hand grenade at the [center] and fled.” Five of the injured men were later identified as Awami National Party (ANP) workers.[viii]