Captured Pakistani Bomber, 14, Vows Future Attacks


 

Published April 04, 2011

| Associated Press

MULTAN, Pakistan
<http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/supplemental-spending.htm#r_src=ramp
>  - His accomplices brought carnage to a Sufi shrine, but the 14-year-old
suicide bomber who was captured after his explosives failed to detonate was
unrepentant.

"Let me go, I want to be a martyr," he said as he was being led away,
according to police officer Khalid Mahmood. "I want to send all you
policemen to hell!"

The boy, identified as Fida Hussain, was arrested at the shrine in central
Pakistan shortly after Sunday's twin suicide blasts, which killed 42 people
and wounded 100 others. The complex close to Dera Ghazi Khan in central
Pakistan was crowded with thousands of people attending an annual festival.

Another suspect was also detained at the shrine, but police gave no details
about him.

On Monday, a suicide bomber struck again, killing seven people at a bus
station in the northwestern region of Lower Dir, said police officer Salim
Marwat. One of the dead was a tribal elder who was regarded as
pro-government and as such was the likely target, he said.

 

Information from the pair detained at the shrine could provide clues about
the network behind the blasts.

The shrine was targeted because Islamist extremists regard the veneration of
Sufi saints - a much loved and widespread practice in Pakistan - as
un-Islamic.

Mahmood said both detained suspects were apparently from North Waziristan
<http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/pakistan.htm#r_src=ramp> , one of
seven tribally administered areas close to Afghanistan
<http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/afghanistan.htm#r_src=ramp> . All
those areas are militant hotspots, but North Waziristan is considered
especially so, being under virtual militant control and being home to
extremists from around Pakistan and the world.

Young boys, often with little or no education, are often used by the Taliban
<http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/taliban-afghanistan.htm#r_src=ramp>
as suicide bombers. As well as being less suspicious, terrorism analysts say
their handlers find it easier to persuade them to carry out suicide
missions.

Mahmood said Hussain and the other suspect were at the shrine for around one
hour before striking. When Hussain's vest failed to detonate, he threw a
grenade but it exploded close to him, blowing off his hand. Police then
fired at him, hitting him in his other arm.

He was being treated for his injuries Monday, Mahmood said.

The boy's comments to the policemen offer a glimpse into the level of his
indoctrination.

"You all are accomplices of the enemies of Islam who are bent upon
eliminating Islam and Muslims," Hussain allegedly said, according to
Mahmood. "If I get a chance, I will again strike as a suicide bomber."

In a brief phone call to reporters, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban,
one of the country's largest and best organized militant groups, claimed
responsibility for the shrine attack. It is believed to be based in North
Waziristan.

Followers of the Barelvi school of Islam, one of the two main branches of
the religion in Pakistan, are most closely associated with the shrines and
are seen as generally tolerant. The Deobandi school, of which the Pakistani
Taliban mostly come from, regard worshipping at shrines as a deviation from
Islam.

There have been at least five deadly attacks against similar shrines in
Pakistan over the last two years.

While the attacks are motivated by religious differences, they also appear
aimed at provoking sectarian warfare and making the government look weak
because it is failing to protect the people.

The practice of visiting shrines is common among Muslims across South Asia,
and those who do so insist they are not doing anything that contravenes
Islamic law. The attacks on shrines have caused anger, but many people -
including educated, middle class Pakistanis, choose to believe in conspiracy
theories that hold Americans or other non-Muslim, foreign powers
responsible.

Also Monday, the bullet-riddled body of a Pakistani tribal elder was found,
six weeks after he was abducted, intelligence officials and a local resident
said. The two intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Sardar Amanuddin had urged displaced members of the Mehsud tribe to return
to South Waziristan, a tribal area where the army has battled the Pakistani
Taliban. The Taliban had warned the tribesmen against coming back.
Amanuddin's body was found near Wana, the main town in the tribal region.

Jan Aalam, a shopkeeper at a local paramilitary base, confirmed that
Amanuddin's relatives had brought his body to the base, seeking a vehicle to
transport it outside South Waziristan.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

--------------------------
Want to discuss this topic?  Head on over to our discussion list, 
[email protected].
--------------------------
Brooks Isoldi, editor
[email protected]

http://www.intellnet.org

  Post message: [email protected]
  Subscribe:    [email protected]
  Unsubscribe:  [email protected]


*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has 
not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of 
The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT 
YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the 
included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of 
intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, 
techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other 
intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes 
only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material 
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use 
this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' 
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    [email protected] 
    [email protected]

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    [email protected]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Reply via email to