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Pakistan hit by attacks to avenge Osama...
'Revenge' bombings in Pakistan kill 80
Friday, May 13,`11 Twin suicide bombings outside a paramilitary training center in Pakistans northwest killed least 80 people early Friday, in what appeared to be militants first major retaliatory attack since the death of Osama bin Laden.
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'Game back on' for US drone hits after OBL death, says analyst
May 13, 2011 -- Four suspected U.S. drone strikes have pounded Pakistan's tribal region since the American military killed terror leader Osama bin Laden, actions that signal an uptick in the U.S. fight against Islamic militants.
'Revenge' bombings in Pakistan kill 80
Friday, May 13,`11 Twin suicide bombings outside a paramilitary training center in Pakistans northwest killed least 80 people early Friday, in what appeared to be militants first major retaliatory attack since the death of Osama bin Laden.
The massive explosions targeted new recruits for Pakistans Frontier Constabulary in Charsadda district, about an hours drive from the capital, Islamabad. The recruits had just finished morning prayers and were boarding buses that would take them on home leave, said Jehanzeb Khan, a senior police officer in Charsadda. The Pakistani Taliban, a homegrown offshoot of the Afghan militant group, said it had carried out the attack to avenge bin Ladens killing by U.S. commandos, according to news services.
Pakistanis already have condemned the U.S. raid as an embarrassing violation of territorial sovereignty, and the death of scores of Pakistanis in an apparent attempt at retaliation could result in even more anti-U.S. sentiment here. This was the first revenge for Osamas martyrdom. Wait for bigger attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said by telephone, according to Agence France-Presse.
A different Taliban official, however, speaking anonymously to The Washington Post, disputed his organizations statement. The official said the attack was intended to punish the Pakistani military for a recent offensive in the Mohmand region of Pakistans semi-autonomous tribal belt, where the Taliban, al-Qaeda and a potpourri of other militant organizations are based. Charsadda borders the the Mohmand region. The two claims could not be immediately reconciled; it is possible that the attack was a response to both the Mohmand offensive and bin Ladens death.
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See also:
'Game back on' for US drone hits after OBL death, says analyst
May 13, 2011 -- Four suspected U.S. drone strikes have pounded Pakistan's tribal region since the American military killed terror leader Osama bin Laden, actions that signal an uptick in the U.S. fight against Islamic militants.
The latest was Friday, when four suspected militants died in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan, according to two Pakistani intelligence officials, who said an unmanned aircraft fired four missiles at a militant's vehicle. Drone strikes have been controversial in Pakistan because of concerns over civilian deaths and disrespect for Pakistan's sovereignty. "I don't think the U.S. cares about the Pakistani sensibilities," said Bill Roggio, a military-affairs analyst. "I think it's game back on."
North Waziristan is one of the seven districts of Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan, and Datta Khel has a strong presence of militants, Roggio said. Based on a count by the CNN Islamabad bureau, Friday's suspected drone strike was the 24th so far this year compared to 111 in all of 2010. The Long War Journal, a website that provides analyses and reporting on war-related matters, said the U.S. military launched only two strikes in April and seven in March, in both North Waziristan and South Waziristan.
Roggio, the managing editor of The Long War Journal, told CNN that there have been drone-strike pauses during spring months in the past, but he said the latest lull came during problems between the United States and Pakistan. He cited the disagreements over the case of Raymond Davis, the CIA contractor who had been incarcerated and later released after allegedly shooting and killing two Pakistanis, and Pakistani rage about a couple of the drone strikes. But Roggio said he believes the dynamics have changed after bin Laden was killed May 2 in a hideout in the Pakistani military garrison town of Abbottabad.
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