Pakistan Security Brief
Pakistan Security Brief – January 27, 2010
Bomb explosion in Rawalkot injures 13; anti-Taliban leader found dead, three militants killed in Bajaur; three children killed by bomb blast in Dir; Taliban claims it has shot down a second drone in North Waziristan; General Kayani addresses the NATO military committee in Brussels; two political activists gunned down in Karachi.
-
A bomb detonated on the side of a road outside a school in Rawalkot district, wounding 13. The blast occurred while explosive experts were attempting to defuse the device. A senior police official stated that this latest attack belonged to the same chain of recent bombings in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, which now totals at six attacks since June 2009.[1]
-
The body of an anti-Taliban militia leader has been discovered in the town of Salarzai in Bajaur Agency. The victim, Malik Manaris Khan, and two other men were kidnapped by Taliban militants on Monday. Also in Bajaur, security forces reported killing three militants and wounding several more in a series of helicopter gunship attacks which began targeting militant hideouts in Mamond and Salarzai sub-districts on Tuesday. There are also reports that large contingents of ground forces, including tanks and artillery, have moved into Mamond in preparation for an offensive.[2]
-
Three children were killed by a bomb planted outside a house in the village of Nanger Khani in upper Dir district. The bomb exploded when the children, who were playing nearby, went to investigate the device.[3]
-
On Tuesday, the Taliban claimed it had shot down a second US drone which went down in the village of Boya in North Waziristan. Officials in Miramshah stated that a drone had crashed in the region for reasons which are still unknown. No proof has been presented supporting the claim that the drone was brought down by the Taliban.[4]
-
At a meeting of the NATO military committee in Brussels, Belgium, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani stressed the importance of increased intelligence sharing between NATO and Pakistan. He also pushed for Pakistan to have a larger role in determining Afghanistan’s future.[5]
-
On Tuesday, gunmen opened fire on a group of people in the Korangi Industrial Area of Karachi, killing two political activists belonging to Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaaz (JSQM) and injuring a third. Relatives of the deceased later held a demonstration in the area, which ended when police reported the arrest of the suspects along with the seizure of a sizable amount of small arms and ammunition.[6]
