Suicide bomber, 35 militants killed in Pakistan
Friday, 23 November 2007
ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (AFP): A suicide bomber blew himself up outside an airport in northwest Pakistan, while troops killed another 35 followers of a pro-Taliban cleric during an offensive, officials said Thursday.
The violence happened late Wednesday as an army operation to drive Islamist insurgents from their strongholds in the Swat Valley, a mountainous former tourist region, entered its second week.
"We have reports that around 35 militants were killed in the operation Wednesday," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told the news agency.
The death toll since the start of last week in Swat, where loyalists of hardline cleric Maulana Fazlullah are demanding Islamic Sharia law, is now more than 220, according to army figures.
Officials said the suicide bomber was killed when he blew up his explosives-laden car at the gate of the valley's main airport in the town of Saidu Sharif, scene of some of the fiercest fighting.
"A Suzuki car was signalled to stop. On disobeying the order, security forces opened fire at the tires of the vehicle, following which the driver blew himself up," local official Amjad Iqbal was quoted as saying by state media.
No troops were injured in the blast, he said.
Militant leader Fazlullah's spokesman, Maulana Sirajuddin, confirmed it was a suicide attack but disputed the official account.
"The attacker failed to reach his target because of a technical problem in his vehicle," he said by telephone.
Separately, an army statement said the latest militant deaths came after troops identified hilltop rebel hideouts in troubled Shangla district and pounded them with small arms, artillery and mortar fire.
Sirajuddin said troops were also using helicopter gunships in the area and threatened retaliation.
"We will start suicide attacks if the operation is not halted," he said.
Unrest erupted in Swat in July when Fazlullah's forces occupied several villages. Fazlullah is nicknamed 'Mullah Radio' because he runs a pirate FM radio station that calls for a holy war on government forces.
The violence happened late Wednesday as an army operation to drive Islamist insurgents from their strongholds in the Swat Valley, a mountainous former tourist region, entered its second week.
"We have reports that around 35 militants were killed in the operation Wednesday," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told the news agency.
The death toll since the start of last week in Swat, where loyalists of hardline cleric Maulana Fazlullah are demanding Islamic Sharia law, is now more than 220, according to army figures.
Officials said the suicide bomber was killed when he blew up his explosives-laden car at the gate of the valley's main airport in the town of Saidu Sharif, scene of some of the fiercest fighting.
"A Suzuki car was signalled to stop. On disobeying the order, security forces opened fire at the tires of the vehicle, following which the driver blew himself up," local official Amjad Iqbal was quoted as saying by state media.
No troops were injured in the blast, he said.
Militant leader Fazlullah's spokesman, Maulana Sirajuddin, confirmed it was a suicide attack but disputed the official account.
"The attacker failed to reach his target because of a technical problem in his vehicle," he said by telephone.
Separately, an army statement said the latest militant deaths came after troops identified hilltop rebel hideouts in troubled Shangla district and pounded them with small arms, artillery and mortar fire.
Sirajuddin said troops were also using helicopter gunships in the area and threatened retaliation.
"We will start suicide attacks if the operation is not halted," he said.
Unrest erupted in Swat in July when Fazlullah's forces occupied several villages. Fazlullah is nicknamed 'Mullah Radio' because he runs a pirate FM radio station that calls for a holy war on government forces.