Pak mosque bombing heightens fears of Taliban backlash
Sunday, 7 June 2009
PESHAWAR, June 6 (AFP): Investigators were Saturday sifting for clues in a mosque in northwest Pakistan where a suicide bomber killed 38 people, as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani vowed to root out militancy.
The attack happened during Friday prayers in a remote, mountainous village in Upper Dir, which borders the district of Swat, where the military Saturday stepped up a concerted air and ground assault against the Taliban.
"I want to make it clear that the government will root out militancy with full public support," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said while addressing a ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore.
He said that "Pakistani security forces have achieved important successes in the ongoing military offensive in Swat. We will defeat militancy with the help of our armed forces and people."
Friday's mosque bombing comes after a series of similar attacks on civilian targets in retaliation for the Swat offensive, which was launched in late April and appears to have the rebels on the run.
"The tide in Swat has decisively turned: major population centres and roads leading to the valley have been largely cleared of organised resistance by the terrorists," army chief General Ashfaq Kayani was quoted saying in a statement.
Claims from either side and reports of death tolls are difficult to verify.
The United States has strongly supported the operation amid warnings that Islamist militants pose a threat to Pakistan's very existence and were plotting attacks on the West.
The attack happened during Friday prayers in a remote, mountainous village in Upper Dir, which borders the district of Swat, where the military Saturday stepped up a concerted air and ground assault against the Taliban.
"I want to make it clear that the government will root out militancy with full public support," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said while addressing a ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore.
He said that "Pakistani security forces have achieved important successes in the ongoing military offensive in Swat. We will defeat militancy with the help of our armed forces and people."
Friday's mosque bombing comes after a series of similar attacks on civilian targets in retaliation for the Swat offensive, which was launched in late April and appears to have the rebels on the run.
"The tide in Swat has decisively turned: major population centres and roads leading to the valley have been largely cleared of organised resistance by the terrorists," army chief General Ashfaq Kayani was quoted saying in a statement.
Claims from either side and reports of death tolls are difficult to verify.
The United States has strongly supported the operation amid warnings that Islamist militants pose a threat to Pakistan's very existence and were plotting attacks on the West.