24 soldiers killed in suicide attack in Pakistan
Sunday, 15 July 2007
MIRAN SHAH, July 14 (AP): A suicide bomber attacked a military convoy killing 24 soldiers in northern Pakistan Saturday, as thousands of troops were deployed to thwart a call for holy war against the government.
Twenty-eight troops were also wounded in the suicide attack on a road near Daznaray, a village about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, said Major General Waheed Arshad.
The driver plowed his explosives-laden vehicle into the convoy and detonated. Arshad said the death toll could rise as troops were searching for one of four military vehicles attacked that rolled off the road. The incident was one of the most lethal suicide attacks in recent months.
Tensions are high in Pakistan after troops overran the Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad, Wednesday, ending an eight-day siege with a hard-line cleric and his militant supporters. More than 100 died during the stand off.
With Saturday's suicide attack in North Waziristan, at least 53 people have been killed in bombings and shootings in the north since the Red Mosque crisis began July 3.
Elsewhere in the northwest Saturday, suspected militants detonated a bomb that struck a vehicle carrying soldiers in the town of Bannu, wounding two, said area police official Mohammed Khan. Two rockets were also fired at a military checkpoint. No casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, a top Pakistani opposition lawmaker announced his decision Saturday to quit Parliament to protest an army raid on a mosque in the capital that left more than 100 people dead.
On Saturday, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who is also the head of a six-party coalition of Islamic groups, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) or United Action Forum, told reporters that he had decided to quit Parliament.
"I am resigning from the Parliament against the army operation against Lal Masjid," he said, adding "I will submit my resignation to the Speaker of the National Assembly in the next two or three days."
Ahmad is one of the top opposition leaders and a vocal critic of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who made this Islamic nation an ally of Washington in the war on terror after the September 11, 2001, attacks in America.
In another development, Pakistan's suspended chief justice was expected to address a rally against Gen. Pervez Musharraf later Saturday, a day after protesting Islamists condemned the president for ordering a deadly raid on a mosque.
Musharraf has already faced widespread calls for his resignation since Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was ousted on March 9 for alleged abuse of power and nepotism.
Chaudhry, who denies the charges, has challenged the government action before the Supreme Court, which is expected to announce its verdict this month.
Chanting "Go Musharraf, Go," more than 2,000 supporters including lawyers and opposition parties welcomed Chaudhry at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport Saturday ahead of a rally of lawyers.
Twenty-eight troops were also wounded in the suicide attack on a road near Daznaray, a village about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, said Major General Waheed Arshad.
The driver plowed his explosives-laden vehicle into the convoy and detonated. Arshad said the death toll could rise as troops were searching for one of four military vehicles attacked that rolled off the road. The incident was one of the most lethal suicide attacks in recent months.
Tensions are high in Pakistan after troops overran the Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad, Wednesday, ending an eight-day siege with a hard-line cleric and his militant supporters. More than 100 died during the stand off.
With Saturday's suicide attack in North Waziristan, at least 53 people have been killed in bombings and shootings in the north since the Red Mosque crisis began July 3.
Elsewhere in the northwest Saturday, suspected militants detonated a bomb that struck a vehicle carrying soldiers in the town of Bannu, wounding two, said area police official Mohammed Khan. Two rockets were also fired at a military checkpoint. No casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, a top Pakistani opposition lawmaker announced his decision Saturday to quit Parliament to protest an army raid on a mosque in the capital that left more than 100 people dead.
On Saturday, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who is also the head of a six-party coalition of Islamic groups, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) or United Action Forum, told reporters that he had decided to quit Parliament.
"I am resigning from the Parliament against the army operation against Lal Masjid," he said, adding "I will submit my resignation to the Speaker of the National Assembly in the next two or three days."
Ahmad is one of the top opposition leaders and a vocal critic of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who made this Islamic nation an ally of Washington in the war on terror after the September 11, 2001, attacks in America.
In another development, Pakistan's suspended chief justice was expected to address a rally against Gen. Pervez Musharraf later Saturday, a day after protesting Islamists condemned the president for ordering a deadly raid on a mosque.
Musharraf has already faced widespread calls for his resignation since Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was ousted on March 9 for alleged abuse of power and nepotism.
Chaudhry, who denies the charges, has challenged the government action before the Supreme Court, which is expected to announce its verdict this month.
Chanting "Go Musharraf, Go," more than 2,000 supporters including lawyers and opposition parties welcomed Chaudhry at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport Saturday ahead of a rally of lawyers.