Missile attack kills at least eight in north-west Pakistan

South Asia News

Jun 30, 2008, 5:48 GMT

Islamabad - At least eight people were killed Monday when a missile hit the central office of a militant organization in Pakistan's Khyber tribal district, where government forces have launched an offensive to quell Islamic insurgency, officials said. The strike that took place in the wee hours destroyed the compound housing the headquarters of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Movement, a religious group headed by radical cleric Haji Namdar in Bara area of Khyber district. The residents said the missile was fired from a US pilotless plane. 'We heard two planes flying in the area and then there was a huge explosion,' said Wali Mohammed. Eight bodies and nine injured had so far been pulled out of the rubble. Namdar was previously associated with pro-Taliban militants and was providing them with sanctuaries and arms to target convoys in Khyber Agency carrying supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan. However, few months back he reportedly defected and helped the security forces in eliminating some of the Taliban hideouts from the area and arresting several of them. In another turnaround, Namdar re-established contacts with top militant commander Baitullah Mehsud after surviving a suicide attack on May 1 that injured his 25 followers. Following Monday's missile attack, he told DawnNews television channel he did not know who carried it out. The strike came as Pakistani security forces troops continued their offensive in Khyber district destroying the centres of another militant commander Mangal Bagh, whose armed followers were threatening neighbouring Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province. Paramilitary troops from Frontier Corps, which faced little resistance from the rebels, unearthed a privately-run jail and a torture cell, the officials claimed. A pirated FM radio station used by the militants for propaganda was also blown up. The government had initially offered peace talks to the militant organizations after it took over in March but was forced to take strict security measures when Bagh's men infiltrated Peshawar and threatened barbers and owners of music and video shops to stop their trades, which the group believes un-Islamic. A spokesman for Mehsud said Taliban had scarped peace deals and suspending talks negotiations with the government.

View blog reactions

If you liked this story please support M&C and Buzz the site on Yahoo.

Latest Headlines in South Asia

Talkback

There are currently no comments for this article. Be the first to comment! (no registration required)

Latest from M&C Blogs

Obama: the gloves come off in Denver - Global Eye on August 29, 2008 6:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Biden: good choice or admission of Obama's weakness? - Global Eye on August 25, 2008 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

Are political campaigns wasting their money on undecided voters? - Global Eye on August 22, 2008 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Upside-down House - The World in Pictures on August 4, 2008 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Church of our Lady in Dresden, Germany - The World in Pictures on August 4, 2008 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Giant Orange - The World in Pictures on July 15, 2008 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

South Asia

Missile attack kills at least eight in north-west Pakistan

South Asia News

Latest Headlines in South Asia

Talkback

Latest from M&C Blogs

Similar articles

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print