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May 30, 2010

PAKISTAN MOSQUE ATTACKS
Gunmen 'were Taleban'



A Pakistani policeman arranges recovered arms and ammunition from Islamic militants who attacked the minority sect mosques in Lahore. Senior police officer Akram Naeem in Lahore said the interrogation of one of the arrested suspects revealed that the gunmen were involved with the Pakistani Taleban. -- PHOTO: AFP

LAHORE (Pakistan) - MILITANTS who attacked a minority sect, killing 93 people in the country's east, belonged to the Pakistani Taleban and were trained in a lawless border region where the US wants Islamabad to mount an army operation, police said on Saturday. The revelation could help the US persuade Pakistan that rooting out the various extremist groups in North Waziristan is in Islamabad's own interest. Up to now, Pakistan has resisted, in part because it says its army is stretched thin in operations elsewhere.

Suspicion that the man accused of a failed bombing attempt in New York's Times Square earlier this month may have received aid from the Pakistani Taleban has added to US urgency about clearing North Waziristan. Local TV channels have reported the Pakistani Taleban, or an affiliate, had claimed responsibility for Friday's attacks in Pakistan's second-largest city. Senior police officer Akram Naeem in Lahore said the interrogation of one of the arrested suspects revealed that the gunmen were involved with the Pakistani Taleban.

The 17-year-old suspect told police the attackers had trained in the North Waziristan tribal region. 'Our initial investigation has found that they all belong to Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan,' or Pakistani Taleban movement, Officer Naeem said. He said the suspect, 'Abdullah alias Mohammad, was given terrorism training in Miran Shah' - the main city in North Waziristan. North Waziristan has long been filled with militants focused on battling US and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taleban began arriving after army operations against them in other regions.

In a sign of the sensitivity surrounding the sect, several Pakistani leaders who condemned the attacks did not refer specifically to the Ahmadis in their statements. TV channels and newspapers avoided the word 'mosque' in describing the attacked sites, preferring 'places of worship.' Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the federal government had alerted Punjab province's administration about threats to the Ahmadi community, and that the latest warning was sent on Wednesday. -- AP

[lisualsethelp]

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Pakistani commandos make way for a colleague carrying an injured, bloodied worshiper. -- AFP


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Pakistani rescuers help an injured worshiper. -- AFP


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Pakistani rescuers lift an injured worshiper onto a stretcher. -- AFP