Former MNA among 10 Killed in Wana Attack

[GUNNER]

Former MNA among 10 Killed in Wana Attack

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 23, 2010 - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Pakistani mosque on Monday, killing at least 10 people including a prominent local cleric in the lawless district of South Waziristan, officials said.

Maulana Noor Mohammed was greeting members of the congregation in the town of Wana after prayers at the mosque when the bomber struck, security officials told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"At least 10 people died and there are more than 20 injured. It was a suicide attack," said one of the officials.

Syed Noor, a nephew of the cleric, confirmed that his uncle was killed. He was a former lawmaker and belonged to radical Sunni Muslim party Jamiat Ulami Islam, which has been linked to the Taliban.

Locals described the cleric as an influential figure who had several times acted as a negotiator between the Taliban and the Pakistani government, but was opposed to the presence of Uzbek militants, providing support to dislodge them.

Wana is the main town in South Waziristan, one of Pakistan's seven districts in the lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border. Pakistan last year waged a major operation to flush out the Pakistani Taliban from South Waziristan.

 

[Spring Onion]

he was among those who was AGAINST suicide bombing

 

[Republic of Pakistan]

He was a former lawmaker and belonged to radical Sunni Muslim party Jamiat Ulami Islam, which has been linked to the Taliban.

We should turn the Taliban allied parties against them, one by one. They do have many alliances, some hidden and others very open. Taliban are successful because they have enough "space" to hide their finances, operate under convenient and innocent fronts (like charities, businesses, religious parties, clerical councils, ownership of mosques and madrassahs etc.). This not only gives them breathing room like I mentioned but a very large pool to fish for new recruits. It can be under very innocent and legal seeming situations and circumstances that one can be tricked into becoming a terror operative. The government should do its job and put heavy surveillance on any single entity that has ever shook hands with Taliban or their affiliates.

 

[GUNNER]

PESHAWAR, Aug 23, 2010 - "The death toll in the suicide attack has risen to 20, with more than 40 people wounded," said one of the officials, fearing the death toll may rise.

 

[muse]

They do have many alliances, some hidden and others very open. Taliban are successful because they have enough "space" to hide their finances, operate under convenient and innocent fronts (like charities, businesses, religious parties, clerical councils, ownership of mosques and madrassahs etc.). This not only gives them breathing room like I mentioned but a very large pool to fish for new recruits. It can be under very innocent and legal seeming situations and circumstances that one can be tricked into becoming a terror operative. The government should do its job and put heavy surveillance on any single entity that has ever shook hands with Taliban or their affiliates.

Great post - I hope more and more Pakistani posters will see through how TTP and other extremists organizations are subverting the Pakistani political system and society.

 

[pak-marine]

May those who died R.I.P

 

[no_koadsheding_plz]

he was a nice and moderate man...very much pashtun..he was doing an extremely delicate job of maitining peace in the region..

 

[Speaker]

Blast kills at least 18 in South Waziristan

WANA: A blast inside a mosque in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border killed at least 18 people on Monday, intelligence officials said.

“Apparently it was a suicide attack and Maulana Noor Mohammad was the target,” said an intelligence official in Wana, referring to a former MNA and a pro-government official.

---------- Post added at 02:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 PM ----------

The Associated Press: 3 bombs kill 36 in northwest Pakistan


By HUSSAIN AFZAL (AP) – 1 hour ago

PARACHINAR, Pakistan — Three bomb attacks in northwest Pakistan — two in tribal regions near the Afghan border and a third near the region's main city of Peshawar — killed at least 36 people Monday, officials and a witness said.
Meanwhile, three suspected U.S. missiles fired from unmanned aircraft struck a house near Miran Shah in North Waziristan, killing four alleged militants, said two intelligence officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to release the information to the media.
The blast on the outskirts of Peshawar killed the leader of an anti-Taliban militia, Israr Khan, and two aides as he passed through a market in the village of Matni, said police official Khurshid Khan. Three more people were injured.
The government supplies a string of militias with arms and money to fight the Taliban militants.
The deadliest blast was a suicide attack at a mosque inside a religious school in South Waziristan that killed 26 people and injured 40 more, said an intelligence official in the region. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the orders set down by his agency.
He said Maulana Noor Mohammad, a former lawmaker who ran the school, was among the dead.
Yar Mohammad, a local tribesman who was present inside the mosque, also said it was a suicide blast.
There was no claim of responsibility, though Islamist militants have often attacked clerics or others who do not support them. It was unclear whether Mohammad fell into that category. Militant and tribal factions also fight among themselves.
Earlier, a bomb exploded inside a school during a meeting of elders in Kurram tribal region, killing seven people.
Local official Khalid Umerzai said the elders at the meeting were discussing a disagreement over ownership of the school building. It wasn't clear if the blast was tied to that dispute or if it had been launched by Islamist militants.
The suspected U.S. missiles hit in a region dominated by the Haqqani network of Islamist militants determined to push U.S. and NATO forces out of Afghanistan. The region has been pounded by similar attacks over the last two years. Monday's strike was the third since massive floods began covering much of Pakistan in late July.
Washington does not acknowledge firing the missiles, and details of the attacks typically remain scarce.
The army has launched offensives in South Waziristan and Kurram over the last 18 months.
There is little or no government presence in either area.
South Waziristan was affected by the floods that have swept Pakistan over the past month, with 18 bridges washed away and about three dozen deaths in the tribal area.
Associated Press Writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Ishtiaq Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Rasool Dawar in Mir Ali contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.