ID :
24132
Mon, 10/13/2008 - 13:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/24132
The shortlink copeid
Suicide bomb attack on tribal jirga preceded by a row : report
Islamabad, Oct 12 (PTI) The devastating suicide car bomb attack on an anti-Taliban tribal jirga in Pakistan's restive tribal belt that killed 80 people was preceded by a row between the militants and local Shia tribesmen.
A youth drove a pick-up truck packed with 300 k.g. of explosives into a gathering of hundreds of members of the Shia Ali Khel tribe in Aurakzai Agency on Friday and blew himself up, killing about 40 people instantly. The toll rose to 80 Saturday as dozens of the injured died in hospitals.
The attack occurred in a remote area and many of the injured could not get medical attention for several hours. Angry tribesmen clashed with the Taliban Saturday and destroyed the homes of militants in the region.
At the time of the attack, the Ali Khel tribesmen had gathered to discuss ways to evict the Taliban from the region.
On September 28, the Taliban had asked the Ali Khel
tribe, the biggest and the most influential one in the area,
and its sub-clans to leave the region because they belonged to
the Shia community. The tribesmen then left the area.
A political agent summoned a grand jirga of all 18
tribes of the Aurakzai Agency on September 30 and got the area
cleared of the Taliban by a lashkar or local militia on
October 6, the Dawn newspaper reported Sunday.
The Ali Khel tribe returned to their homes and held a
jirga on October 7 to take collective action against the
Taliban along with representatives of the Ahle Sunnat Wal
Jamat.
On Friday, the tribesmen had gathered at Khadizai
village to destroy the local Taliban headquarters and homes of
people sheltering the militants.
'The Dawn' quoted an official report as saying that
the administration knew the Taliban would attack the Ali Khel
jirga but no action was taken to avert it. Officials said the
report was "not final and many aspects of the attack remained
to be investigated".
The officials also said that evidence gathered so far
from the blast site indicated that the attack was carried out
by the Taliban from the Darra Adam Khel region in the North
West Frontier Province who had entered the Aurakzai Agency
last month.
Reports from the Aurakzai Agency said over 130 people
were injured in the attack while several others were missing.
The administration has sent several teams to villages in the
area to gather information about the missing persons so that
the exact death toll could be ascertained.
This is not the first instance of the Taliban
targeting Shia tribesmen. In recent months, Taliban militants
are believed to have entered the Kurram Agency and attacked
the region's Shia tribesmen.
A youth drove a pick-up truck packed with 300 k.g. of explosives into a gathering of hundreds of members of the Shia Ali Khel tribe in Aurakzai Agency on Friday and blew himself up, killing about 40 people instantly. The toll rose to 80 Saturday as dozens of the injured died in hospitals.
The attack occurred in a remote area and many of the injured could not get medical attention for several hours. Angry tribesmen clashed with the Taliban Saturday and destroyed the homes of militants in the region.
At the time of the attack, the Ali Khel tribesmen had gathered to discuss ways to evict the Taliban from the region.
On September 28, the Taliban had asked the Ali Khel
tribe, the biggest and the most influential one in the area,
and its sub-clans to leave the region because they belonged to
the Shia community. The tribesmen then left the area.
A political agent summoned a grand jirga of all 18
tribes of the Aurakzai Agency on September 30 and got the area
cleared of the Taliban by a lashkar or local militia on
October 6, the Dawn newspaper reported Sunday.
The Ali Khel tribe returned to their homes and held a
jirga on October 7 to take collective action against the
Taliban along with representatives of the Ahle Sunnat Wal
Jamat.
On Friday, the tribesmen had gathered at Khadizai
village to destroy the local Taliban headquarters and homes of
people sheltering the militants.
'The Dawn' quoted an official report as saying that
the administration knew the Taliban would attack the Ali Khel
jirga but no action was taken to avert it. Officials said the
report was "not final and many aspects of the attack remained
to be investigated".
The officials also said that evidence gathered so far
from the blast site indicated that the attack was carried out
by the Taliban from the Darra Adam Khel region in the North
West Frontier Province who had entered the Aurakzai Agency
last month.
Reports from the Aurakzai Agency said over 130 people
were injured in the attack while several others were missing.
The administration has sent several teams to villages in the
area to gather information about the missing persons so that
the exact death toll could be ascertained.
This is not the first instance of the Taliban
targeting Shia tribesmen. In recent months, Taliban militants
are believed to have entered the Kurram Agency and attacked
the region's Shia tribesmen.
