Pakistan Security Brief

Pakistan Security Brief – January 4, 2010

Bomb blast in Lakki Marwat kills at least 101; roadside bomb kills a former NWFP education minister; Pakistani troops battled militants during multiple engagements in South Waziristan and Swat; multiple recent U.S. drone attacks kill several militants; Target killings leave 18 dead in Karachi.

• A village in Lakki Marwat, located in the North-West Frontier Province bordering South Waziristan, was the site of a car bomb on January 1. The bomber drove his car to the middle of a field where people were playing volleyball before detonating the bomb. At least 101 people were killed in the attack. Residents in the surrounding area had recently formed a pro-government militia and a peace committee to help expel unwanted militants from the region. Militants had threatened members of the committee for weeks, demanding that the committee disband or be killed.[1]

• A former North-West Frontier Province education minister was the target of a roadside bomb on January 3. The attack occurred in the town of Hangu, located in the NWFP. The former minister, the driver, and a bodyguard were all killed in the blast.[2]

• Various areas of South Waziristan saw fighting between militants and Pakistani troops on January 2 and 3. Troops continued operation Rah-e Nijat, where they killed at least five militants and recovered a cache of weapons. A Pakistani soldier was also reported killed from a roadside bomb. In operation Rah-e Rast, security forces searched numerous towns in Swat, capturing five suspected militants.[3]

• Recent U.S. drone attacks have killed several militants in the previous few days. On January 1 missiles from a drone struck a car in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, killing at least three militants. The night before, on December 31, two militants were killed in the same region from a drone attack.[4]

• Targeted killings have occurred in numerous locations around Karachi, with as many as 18 people reported killed during the past two days. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings, which have predominately targeted religious and political parties in the city.[5]