Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistan Security Brief – December 15, 2009 

Bomb blast in Dera Ghazi Khan market kills several; David Headly allegedly had other targets planned for after Mumbai; the TTP again denies it is responsible for bomb attacks in cities; Pakistani forces kill nine militants in Kurram as militants destroy two NATO tankers in Balochistan.

• A large bomb blast in the Pakistani town of Dera Ghazi Khan killed over twenty people on Tuesday. The car bomb exploded in a crowded marketplace outside the house of a provincial government advisor, Zulkfiqar Khosa who police believe may have been the target of the attack. Mr. Khosa was not hurt in the bombing.[1]

• Reports have emerged that David Headly, the Chicago man arrested on suspicion of helping plan the Mumbai attacks, was planning on attacking new targets in India including Bollywood, Hindu temples and a military staff college. Tahawwur Rana, arrested as one of Headly’s accomplices, denies he was involved in the plot but reports claim he was aware of the attacks before they took place.[2]

• Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Azam Tariq has once again denied that the TTP is responsible for attacks causing large civilian casualties calling the attacks an attempt by government and intelligence agencies to defame the Pakistani Taliban.[3]

• Pakistani military gunships and troops continued their operations throughout the FATA and claim to have killed nine militants in actions in Kurram agency on Tuesday. Elsewhere, militants torched two tankers carrying fuel through Balochistan to NATO forces in Afghanistan.[4]