Pakistan Security Brief –November 20, 2009
CIA Chief Leon Panetta visited Islamabad to discuss the United States’ war in Afghanistan and the relationship between United States’ and Pakistan’s intelligence services; two more police officers were killed in a second blast in Peshawar on Thursday; another suspected drone strike killed eight in North Waziristan on Friday; two people were injured when a NATO convoy came under attack near Mastung.
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The head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, met with Prime Minister Gilani in Pakistan on Friday. They discussed the Obama administration’s policy on Afghanistan and even agreed on "operational functioning between the two militaries and intelligence agencies." Panetta reportedly pressured Gilani to increase Pakistan’s operations against the Afghan Taliban.[1]
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Two police officers were killed in another blast just hours after the attack on the courthouse in Peshawar on Thursday. The explosives were remotely detonated as a police van traveled down a road in the suburbs of Peshawar. The steel pellets tore through the van, killing two officers. The death toll from the two bombings rose to twenty-two.[2]
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A suspected US drone killed eight militants in North Waziristan on Friday. The drone fired two missiles at a militant compound near Mir Ali. The Taliban is said to have “cordoned off the area and stopped traffic.” This is the second drone attack in North Waziristan in two days.[3]
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Two people were injured when a NATO convoy carrying food to Afghanistan was attacked near Mastung. The attack occurred when gunmen open fired on the convoy. The police have cordoned off the area and are conducting an investigation.[4]