[23InetrySypekek]

When is JI going to do this to SAF HQ?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091010/...VubWVuaG9sZGhv


Gunmen hold hostages in Pakistan army headquarters

By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer Asif Shahzad, Associated Press Writer – 1 min ago

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – Pakistan's army says militants who infiltrated its headquarters compound are holding hostages inside.

The militants slipped into the complex after they and others attacked it, sparking a gunbattle that killed four assailants and six soldiers.

Officials previously said two militants were inside, but the army is now saying there are more than two.

A statement said the militants on Saturday were surrounded by security forces.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen wearing military uniforms attacked Pakistan's army headquarters Saturday, sparking a gunbattle that killed four attackers and six soldiers. Seven hours later, two of the assailants remained holed up inside the heavily fortified complex, authorities said.

The audacious assault close to the capital was the third major militant attack in Pakistan in a week and came as the government was planning an imminent offensive against Islamist militants in their strongholds in the rugged mountains along the border with Afghanistan.

It showed that the militants retain the ability to strike at the very heart of Pakistan's security apparatus despite recent military operations against their forces and the killing of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack in August.

It was unclear whether army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was inside the complex Saturday during the attack. Military statements said he attended meetings there and at the president's office in nearby Islamabad during the day.

The attack began shortly before noon when the gunmen, dressed in camouflage military uniforms and wielding assault rifles and grenades, drove in a white van up to the army compound and tried to force their way inside, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said.

The assailants shot at the guards at one checkpoint, killing some of them, and then jumped out of the van and ran toward a second checkpoint, he said. Abbas said the guards were likely confused by the attackers' uniforms.

The heavily armed attackers then took up positions throughout the area, hurling at least one grenade and firing sporadically at security forces, said a senior military official inside the compound. The official, who said top army officials were trapped in the compound during the assault, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

After a 45-minute gunfight, four of the attackers were killed, said Abbas, who told the private Geo news television channel the assault over and the situation "under full control."

But more than an hour later, gunshots rang out from the compound, and Abbas confirmed that two more gunmen had eluded security forces and slipped into the headquarters compound in Rawalpindi. The city is filled with security checkpoints and police roadblocks.

On Saturday evening, Abbas said the two men remained holed up in a room and were surrounded.

"We are trying to finish it at earliest, clear the area of terrorists and restore complete control," he told Dunya TV.

Abbas said six troops were killed and five wounded, one critically. Those killed including a brigadier and a lieutenant colonel, according to a military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Pakistani media said the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the ongoing assaults strengthened the government's resolve to launch the offensive.

"We have been left no other option except to go ahead to face them," he told Dawn television.

Militants regularly attack army bases across the country and bombed a checkpoint the outside army compound in Rawalpindi two years ago.

Khan Bahadur, a shuttle van driver, was standing outside the gate of the compound when the white van pulled up, and shooting erupted.

"There was fierce firing, and then there was a blast. Soldiers were running here and there," he said. "The firing continued for about a half-hour. There was smoke everywhere. Then there was a break, and then firing again."

The gunbattle following a car bombing that killed 49 on Friday in the northwestern city of Peshawar and the bombing of a U.N. aid agency Monday that killed five in Islamabad. The man who attacked the U.N. was also wearing a security forces' uniform and was granted entry to the compound after asking to use the bathroom.

As the attack wore on Saturday, Pakistan took two news channels, Geo and SAMA, off the air, but several others continued broadcasting. The blocked stations were known for their critical reporting of the government. Officials were not available for comment.

The attack appeared to be a message to the army that the militants intend to ramp up their strikes across the country in response to the government's planned offensive against Taliban strongholds in the border region of South Waziristan.

Pakistan vowed Friday to launch the new offensive in the wake of the massive Peshawar bombing.

The United States has been pushing Pakistan to take strong action against insurgents using its soil as a base for attacks in Afghanistan. The assault could be risky for the army, which was beaten back on three previous offensives into the Taliban heartland.

But the army may have been emboldened by its successes against the militants in the Swat Valley and by the killing of Baitullah Mehsud.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the militants had left the government "no other option" but to hit back. "We will have to proceed," he told a local television station Friday. "All roads are leading to South Waziristan."

Islamist militants have been carrying out nearly weekly attacks in Pakistan, but the sheer scale of Friday's bombing — which killed nine children — pushed the government to declare it would take the fight to the lawless tribal belt along the border where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden may be hiding.

___

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmad contributed to this report from Islamabad.

[23InetrySypekek]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_pakist...VubWVuaG9sZHVw


Gunmen hold up to 15 hostages in Pakistan army HQ

By ASIF SHAHZAD, Associated Press Writer Asif Shahzad, Associated Press Writer – 37 mins ago

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – Heavily armed militants were holding up to 15 soldiers hostage inside Pakistan's army headquarters Saturday after they stormed the complex in an audacious assault on the heart of the nuclear-armed country's most powerful institution.

The attack left 10 people dead, including two ranking officers, and appeared to be a warning to the military that its planned offensive on the insurgents' stronghold along the Afghan border would be met with strikes against targets across Pakistan.

The government said the assault on the headquarters, which followed a bloody market bombing and a suicide blast at a U.N. aid agency this week, had strengthened its resolve to push into South Wazristan — a mountainous region where security forces have been beaten back by insurgents before.

The spasm of violence was confirmation that the militants had regrouped despite recent military operations against their forces and the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack in August. His replacement vowed just last week to step up attacks around the country and repel any push into Waziristan.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said "four or five" assailants were holding between 10 and 15 troops hostage in a building close to the main gates of the complex in Rawalpindi, a city near the capital, Islamabad. He said the building had no connection to any of the country's intelligence agencies. No senior military or intelligence officials were among those being held, he said.

He said special forces had surrounded the building. "They will decide how and when to act," he said, declining to say whether negotiations were going on more than 11 hours after the attack began.

Late Saturday, sporadic gunfire was heard coming from the complex.

The attack on the center of Pakistan's military establishment began shortly before noon when the gunmen, dressed in camouflage military uniforms and wielding assault rifles and grenades, drove in a white van up to the army compound and opened fire, Abbas and a witness said.

"There was fierce firing, and then there was a blast," said Khan Bahadur, a shuttle van driver who was standing outside the gate of the compound. "Soldiers were running here and there," he said. "The firing continued for about a half-hour. There was smoke everywhere. Then there was a break, and then firing again."

After a 45-minute gunfight, four of the attackers were killed, said Abbas.

He initially told Geo news television channel the assault was over and the situation "under full control."

But more than an hour later, gunshots rang out from the headquarters compound, and Abbas then confirmed that other gunmen had eluded security forces and slipped into the compound. The city is filled with security checkpoints and police roadblocks.

"We are trying to finish it (the siege) at the earliest, clear the area of terrorists and restore complete control," Abbas said.

Abbas said six soldiers were killed, included a brigadier and a lieutenant colonel, and five wounded, one critically.

Pakistani media said the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The United States has been pushing Pakistan to take strong action against insurgents using its soil as a base for attacks in Afghanistan. The army has previously been unwilling to go into Waziristan with significant force, but has likely been emboldened by its successes against the militants in the Swat Valley earlier this year and the killing of Baitullah Mehsud.

"I want to give a message to the Taliban that what we did with you in Swat, we will do the same to you there (in Waziristan), too," said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. "We are going to come heavy on you."

Militants regularly attack army bases across the country and bombed a checkpoint the outside army compound in Rawalpindi two years ago — one of several major bombings to hit the garrison city in recent years. But rarely have the Taliban mounted an armed assault here involving multiple fighters.

In its brazenness and sophistication, Saturday's assault resembled attacks in March by teams of militants against the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in the eastern city of Lahore and a police training center, which the insurgents took over for 12 hours before security forces retook it.

Saturday's gunbattle following a car bombing that killed 49 on Friday in the northwestern city of Peshawar and the bombing of a U.N. aid agency Monday that killed five in Islamabad. The man who attacked the U.N. was also wearing a security forces' uniform and was granted entry to the compound after asking to use the bathroom.

Islamist militants have been carrying out nearly weekly attacks in Pakistan, but the sheer scale of Friday's bombing in Peshawar — which killed nine children — pushed the government to declare it would take the fight to the lawless tribal belt along the border where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden may be hiding.

Any operation in Waziristan will be very difficult. Analysts say the militants may have 12,000 well-armed fighters there, while winter will arrive in one month's time and could bog down troops. The army must also ensure that insurgents do not regroup elsewhere in the northwest, including Swat.

___

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmad and Chris Brummitt contributed to this report from Islamabad.

[VawSwaspamups]

This is weird and strange.. pakistan was promoting militancy in afganisthan and india and now it turned against them..!

[23InetrySypekek]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091012/...FraXN0YW5zYXlz

Military convoy bombed in Pakistan Reuters

By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer Riaz Khan, Associated Press Writer – 2 mins ago

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A suicide car bombing targeting Pakistani troops killed 41 people Monday, the fourth grisly militant attack in just over a week, as the Taliban pledged to mobilize fighters across the country for more strikes.

The Taliban also claimed responsibility for the 22-hour weekend attack on the nation's heavily fortified army headquarters, saying a cell from Pakistan's most populous province carried out the raid.

The claim that a Punjabi faction of the Pakistani Taliban was behind that strike is a sign the insurgents have forged links with militants outside their main strongholds in Pashtun areas close to the Afghan border, increasing their potency.

The army, however, maintained it was launched from South Waziristan — where the military is preparing for what will likely be a long and bloody offensive against the major base of the Taliban along the frontier.

In advance of that offensive, the militants have launched a wave of attacks across the country.

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