Pakistan Security Brief – January 6, 2010
Two U.S. drone strikes kill 12 in North Waziristan; Prime Minister Gilani claims Pakistani forces are more successful than Western forces at battling the Taliban; bomb blast kills at least three Pakistani soldiers in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir; militants target a tribe resisting Taliban infiltration in lower Orakzai; targeted killings continued in Karachi; Balochistan militants target select locations with rockets.
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Two missile attacks, believed to be from U.S. drones, hit an area in North Waziristan on Wednesday. It is reported that the first strike hit a compound in Sanzali village in the Datta Khel region, killing seven people. Following the first strike, a second attack occurred on the same target, killing five people as they gathered around the destroyed compound.[1]
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Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani claims that the achievements of Western forces in Afghanistan have been less successful than those of Pakistani forces against militant groups. Prime Minister Gilani refers to recent operations in the North-West Frontier Province by the Pakistani military as his prime example for the comparison.[2]
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On Wednesday a blast killed three Pakistani soldiers and wounded 11 more in Rawalakot District, located in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. The attack occurred outside a military barracks as soldiers were leaving, but officials were unsure if a suicide bomber or a planted device caused the blast. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[3]
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The Stori Khel tribe, located in lower Orakzai, was once again the victim of militant attacks. The tribe has been battling Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants for the past month to resist their infiltration into the area. On Tuesday militants bombed six shrines in the area. They also exhumed and desecrated the body of local spiritual leader Anwarul Haq.[4]
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Target killings continued in Karachi, as seven more people were gunned down throughout Tuesday. The victims were active members of different political groups.[5]
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Militants loaded with rockets targeted the Balochistan Governor House and Civil Hospital on Tuesday. One rocket landed at each of the locations, and one person was reported wounded.[6]