Islamabad - A roadside blast in Pakistan's restive city of
Peshawar left two police officers dead on Thursday, hours after
attack helicopters killed at least 28 Islamist insurgents in the
adjoining lawless region on the Afghan border, officials said.
The remote-controlled bomb struck a police patrol unit on the
outskirts of Peshawar at around 6:45 am (0045 GMT) when officers were
responding to an emergency call.
'The driver of the patrol car died on the spot while two
constables and two passers-by were wounded,' local police officer
Riazul Islam said. The injured were taken to a hospital, where one
officer died.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack,
but officials suspected it might have been carried out by insurgents
based in the nearby tribal region, a known hotbed of Taliban and
al-Qaeda fighters.
The bombing followed overnight attacks by helicopter gunships on
the hideouts of Islamist militants in the Khyber tribal district,
which borders Peshawar.
The aerial raids were preceded by the killing of a pro-government
tribal elder, Malik Guli Shah, and his two guards by gunmen in Khyber.
'Our three helicopters engaged several positions of
Lashkar-e-Islam in the Sandapal and Akakhel areas of Tirah Valley
(Khyber district) late Wednesday,' said Wajid Ali, a spokesman for
the paramilitary Frontier Corps.
'According to our information, 28 terrorists including an
important commander died and around a dozen more were injured. Five
vehicles used by the insurgents were also destroyed,' he added.
Lashkar-e-Islam is a Taliban group led by the warlord Mangal Bagh,
who is also believed to be behind attacks on the NATO supply route
running through the mountainous district and strikes on Pakistani
security personnel in the area.
Violence in Pakistan's tribal region has surged in recent weeks as
the military announced that it was close to wrapping up its offensive
in the Swat valley and would then be pursuing the Taliban chief
Baitullah Mehsud in the troubled South Waziristan district.
Militants fleeing the Swat operation have been moving into the
tribal region, sparking clashes with local tribesmen, who have raised
private militias, or Lashkars, to prevent the infiltration.
Shiite Muslims in the Kurram tribal district have been battling
the retreating militants, who are believed to be supported by the
local Sunni clans, for more than two weeks.
The rival Shiite and Sunni groups, however, announced a ceasefire
on Wednesday, after 32 people were killed in a day's fighting. The
clashes have so far left more than 150 people dead and over 200
others wounded.
Government forces are being deployed in the semi-autonomous area
after the truce.
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