Pakistan Security Brief

January 28, 2010

Pakistan Security Brief – January 28, 2010

More rumors surface about Hakimullah Mehsud’s death; gunmen attack a NATO supply convoy in Karachi; US drones absent over North Waziristan; explosion in Balochistan kills three; Filipino terror suspect most likely not killed in North Waziristan drone strike; allegations of ANP disruption in Swat election.

More unconfirmed rumors are circulating about Hakimullah Mehsud’s condition following a series of drone strikes earlier this month. One rumor suggests that Mehsud succumbed to injuries sustained in the January 14 attack in Shaktoi village. Another rumor indicates he was wounded and is receiving care at his father-in-law’s home in Mamozai village in Orakzai Agency, which may have been shelled by helicopter gunships on Tuesday. The TTP still denies Mehsud has been killed or injured.[1]
Gunmen have attacked a convoy of NATO supply trucks travelling on the outskirts of Karachi. The convoy was en route to Kandahar Province in Afghanistan when four men riding on motorcycles opened fire and lobbed grenades at the vehicles, wounding three people and causing damage to several of the trucks.[2]
Tribesmen in North Waziristan have reported the skies clear of US drones for the first time in months. Locals have said that in the past two days they have not seen any drones flying overhead.[3]
A bomb explosion in the Jaffarabad district of Balochistan has left three people dead and eight others injured. Police are currently investigating the blast, which occurred at a restaurant in the town of Sohbatpur.[4]
Reports now indicate that a Filipino terror suspect believed to have been killed in the January 14 drone strike in North Waziristan is most likely still alive. A Philippine military official stated he is ‘99-percent’ certain Abdul Basit Usman is still in the Philippines and added that Usman was sighted in the southern part of the country last week.[5]
Awami National Party (ANP) Minister Ayub Ashari has been accused of disrupting today’s elections in Swat. The opposition parties claim that Ashari and a group of armed men forced their way into a polling station in Swat and stole several ballot books.[6]

[1] “Rumours about Hakimullah’s death,” The News International, January 28, 2010. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=221117.

[2] “Three hurt as gunmen hit NATO supply convoy in Pak,” AFP, January 28, 2010. Available at http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100128/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanafghanistanunrestnato. Salman Masood, “In Rare Attack, NATO Convoy Is Hit In Karachi,” New York Times, January 28, 2010. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/world/asia/29pstan.html. “Nato lorries attacked in Pakistan,” BBC, January 28, 2010. Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8484536.stm.

[3] “No drone flights after ‘crash’,” The News International, January 28, 2010. Available at http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=221118.

[4] “Three killed in blast in Jaffarabad,” Dawn, January 28, 2010. Available at http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/04-blast-jaffarabad-qs-03.

[5] “Filipino militant not killed in militant strike: report,” Dawn, January 28, 2010. Available at http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/07-filipino-militant-not-killed-in-waziristan-strike-report-ha-03.

[6] “Opposition parties accuse ANP minister in Swat,” Dawn, January 28, 2010. Available at http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/03-opposition-parties-accuse-anp-minister-in-swat-ss-04.

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