Pakistan Security Brief - September 7, 2010

Pakistan Security Brief – September 7, 2010

Suicide attack targets police station in Lakki Marwat, TTP claims responsibility; U.S. drone strikes pound militant havens in North Waziristan; Qari Hussain claims responsibility for suicide bombing in Quetta, threatens to launch attacks in U.S. and Europe “very soon”; U.N. to double its previous request for flood aid.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

• At least 19 people were killed and another 40 injured on Monday, when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives laden vehicle into a police station in Lakki Marwat. Four school children and nine police officers were listed among the dead.  The explosion completely demolished the police station and damaged a number of adjoining buildings. Officials estimate that the bomb contained 500 to 600 kilograms of explosives.  On Tuesday, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Azam Tariq officially claimed responsibility for the Lakki Marwat attack.  Tariq told reporters that the TTP will continue to launch suicide missions against Pakistani security forces and that “civilians should avoid proximity with them.”   Tariq also said that the TTP’s suicide bombing campaign is a response to the Pakistani government’s support of US drone strikes in the FATA. [1]

FATA

• On Monday, five militants were killed by two missiles fired from US drones in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.  The missiles targeted two vehicles containing militants. The affiliation and nationality of those killed in Monday’s strike was not immediately known.  Officials report that this was the fourth such strike in the last four days—bring the total number of reported drone strikes under the Obama administration to 109. A separate drone strike in Datta Khel on Saturday killed eight militants, including at least three foreign fighters. A security official in Peshawar indicated that the strike targeted a house being used as a militant compound, adding that a truck outside the house was also destroyed. At least six militants were killed in another drone strike in North Waziristan on Friday when two missiles struck a militant compound on the outskirts of Miramshah. One intelligence official confirmed the strike, saying that the compound was completely destroyed in the attack and that “all of those killed were local militants” with no reports of any high value targets. [2]

• At least 14 militants were killed during clashes in Kurram Agency on Saturday. Eight militants were killed when a blast from an improvised explosive device destroyed their vehicle. Another six militants were killed in artillery shelling by security forces which destroyed three militant hideouts in the Chinarak area. [3]

• Nine militants from various areas of Bajaur Agency’s Mamund sub-district surrendered to security forces on Friday. Two militant commanders were among those who surrendered in accordance with a pre-arranged agreement facilitated by a tribal jirga. Security forces also claim to have conducted search operations throughout the area which resulted in the seizure of “all kinds of sophisticated weapons.” [4]

Balochistan

• The death toll in Friday’s suicide bombing which targeted a Shia rally in Quetta has risen to a total of 65 people killed. A senior police official said that around 150 people were wounded in the attack, some of which are still in critical condition. TTP commander Qari Hussain Mehsud claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying that “our war is against America and Pakistani security forces, but Shiites are also our target because they, too, are our enemies.” Hussain also said that he was proud of last Wednesday’s announcement by the U.S. State Department that the TTP would be added to its international terrorism blacklist and that the TTP will “launch attacks in America and Europe very soon.” [5]

• Suspected Taliban militants blew up a girls’ primary school in Swat Valley on Friday evening. The blast took place in the town of Kalam and caused severe damaged to three rooms in the building but no casualties were reported. This is the first such incident in the Swat Valley since the conclusion of last year’s military operation in the region. [6]

Floods

• The U.N.’s special envoy for assistance to Pakistan, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said that the office of the secretary-general is preparing to issue a new request for flood aid in Pakistan that will be at least double their previous appeal of $460 million. Ripert said that the U.N. needs hundreds of millions of dollars in new aid funding in order to provide food, shelter, and medical care to the 8 to 10 million flood victims who are still in need of daily assistance. The U.N. has so far received $310 million of its initial funding requests while total private and bilateral donations currently amount to a total of approximately $1.1 billion. Ripert’s statement comes as the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said that the U.N. has set up nearly 1,200 mobile health clinics throughout Pakistan. On Friday, President Barack Obama issued a presidential order authorizing the use of up to $33 million of the United States’ Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund to help flood victims in Pakistan. [7]

• On Tuesday, Pakistani authorities stepped up their efforts to save two towns in Sindh province that are under threat from advancing floodwaters. Rising water levels were putting pressure on the embankments at Johi and were continuing to move towards the town of Dadu, just three miles away. However, according to local officials, floodwaters in southern Sindh are now pouring into the Arabian Sea via the Kalka Chani and Purano Dhoro creeks.[8]

• Speaking before the lower house of the federal parliament, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday that the first phase of flood relief efforts will be extended to six months in light of continuing aid needs. Meanwhile, Corps Commander Peshawar Asif Yasin Malik claimed that rescue operations in the flood affected areas are now complete, adding that the army has establish 65 relief camps, 58 medical camps, and four general hospitals to provide aid to flood victims. Separately, President Asif Ali Zardari proposed a one-time flood tax while presiding over a meeting of the Sindh provincial cabinet in Islamabad on Sunday. Zardari asked the Sindh government to generate $1 billion in tax revenue from urban property and agricultural land which has not been affected by the flooding. An article in the New York Times examines the domestic political and social repercussions from the Pakistani government’s perceived failure to effectively respond to the country’s flood disaster. A separate article from Reuters notes how the Pakistan Army has gained significant popularity among the public in light of its significant outperformance of the civilian government when it comes to providing aid to flood victims. [9]