Blast At Spy Agency In NW Pakistan Kills Seven

[Turborama]

Source: AP

A suicide car bomb devastated Pakistan's main spy agency building in the northwest Friday, killing at least 7 people and striking at the heart of the institution overseeing much of the country's anti-terror campaign.

The blast in Peshawar was the latest in a string of bloody attacks on security forces, civilian and Western targets since the government launched an offensive in mid-October against militants in the border region of South Waziristan, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding out.

The early-morning blast, heard across the city, destroyed much of the three-story building belonging to the Inter-Services Intelligence agency and many cars on the street outside. An Associated Press reporter on the scene within minutes saw several dead or badly wounded bodies being taken away.

Seven bodies and 35 wounded people were admitted to the nearby Lady Reading Hospital, police officer Ullah Khan said.

Peshawar Police chief Liaqat Ali Khan said a car bomber attacked the main gate of the complex.

Just over an hour later, another suicide car bomb wounded 10 people at police station in Bakakhel, a town in the semiautonomous tribal regions, intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because of the nature of their work.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/blast-at-spy-agency-in-nw_n_356306.html

[pjt7]

1. I just read an article claiming

Blackwater has large numbers inside Pakistan & is stirring up trouble. Any one know if this is a fact?

[bemildred]

2. At least 10 dead as Pakistan spy agency office destroyed by bomb

The provincial office of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency in Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province, was struck by a car bomb in the early morning, causing the building the collapse.

Separately, a bombing at a police station in Bannu, on the edge of the tribal borderland with Afghanistan, killed six more. The latest violence came as James Jones, the US National Security Adviser, visited Pakistan for talks.

Pakistan has been rocked by a wave of terrorist attacks in retaliation for the military offensive launched last month in South Waziristan, the heartland of the country's Taliban movement.

The extremists pointedly targeted military sites, last month in a daring gun assault, and now at the ISI. Pakistan's military, operating through the ISI, has worked with jihadist groups since the 1980s, using them as proxy warriors in Afghanistan and India. However, a rupture in the relationship between military and the mullahs opened up after Pakistan sided with the US against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. Some extremist groups turned on the state, especially after the storming of the Red Mosque in Islamabad in 2007, while other jihadist outfits appear still to remain within the broad control of the military.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/6562387/At-least-10-dead-as-Pakistan-spy-agency-office-destroyed-by-bomb.html

[laststeamtrain]

3. McClatchy: Insurgents destroy regional headquarters of Pakistan's spy agency

Insurgents destroy regional headquarters of Pakistan's spy agency
By Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers 1 hr 7 mins ago

ISLAMABAD , Pakistan_A powerful car bomb destroyed the regional headquarters of Pakistan's premier spy agency Friday, as insurgents struck at the controversial institution that once had supported them, killing at least 10.

The provincial office of the Inter-Services Intelligence military espionage agency in Peshawar , capital of the North West Frontier Province , was struck in early morning, causing the building to collapse.

<snip>

The latest violence came as the U.S. National Security Adviser, James Jones , visited Pakistan for talks, expected to center on Afghanistan .

Pakistan has been rocked by a wave of terrorist attacks in retaliation for the U.S.-backed military offensive launched last month in South Waziristan , the heartland of the country's Taliban movement.

<snip>

Pakistan's military, operating through the ISI, has trained and supported jihadist groups since the 1980's, to serve as its proxy warriors in Afghanistan and India .

However, after Pakistan sided with the U.S. against the Taliban in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, a rupture developed in the relationship between military and the mullahs. Some extremist groups turned on the state, especially after the government stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad in 2007, and other jihadist outfits appear to still remain within the broad control of the military. ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20091113/wl_mcclatchy/3356101

[Gorobei]

4. It seems the ISI's Chicken's are coming home to roost.

They have been feeding the islamist militants for ages. Now, just as with the US and the Muhajideen it's coming back to bite them.

This could prove to be a turning point for Pakistan's (more specifically the ISI's) support for the extremists.

One can hope anyway.

[Vehl]

5. i agree. nt. its Karma