Pakistan Security Brief - June 9, 2009

 Pakistan Security Brief – June 9, 2009 

On Tuesday, militants exploded a truck bomb inside the gates of a five-star hotel in Peshawar killing a dozen people; local villagers in Upper Dir received support from Pakistani military artillery and gunships as they continued to clash with militants in Upper Dir; local residents in Bannu district bordering Waziristan indicated that the Pakistani military had prepared for and begun an offensive aimed at militant hideouts. 

• At least 11 people were killed and 50 others injured today when militants exploded a car bomb at the five-star Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar.[1] After firing on security guards, militants drove a small truck packed with 500 kilograms of explosives through the gates of the hotel. 

• Marking the first major battle between the residents of northwest Pakistan and Pakistani Taliban militants, nearly 1,200 villagers carrying firearms clashed with 200 militants in a few Upper Dir communities. The Pakistani military sent helicopter gunships in support of the lashkars during fighting, targeting militant hideouts in Upper Dir. As of today, the lashkar was reportedly surrounding suspected militant hideouts in the Shatkas and Ghazigai villages.[2] 

• Security forces destroyed the headquarters of Maulana Fazlullah in Imam Dheri. Officials claim that the headquarters “had been used to collect funds for carrying out militancy in the area” and had served as a prison for captured opponents.[3] 

• Following the imposition of a curfew in Bannu district, local residents reported that the Pakistani military had warned residents to evacuate ahead of military operations and that Pakistan security forces had begun shelling militant hideouts in the district adjacent to Waziristan. Additionally, district police claimed that over 100 hundred people had been detained during search operations for militants connected to recent violence.[4] 

• Meeting in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, a group of religious scholars from various sects in Pakistan expressed support for the Pakistani military operations in Swat.[5]