Central & South Asia
Deaths in Pakistan police post attack
At least 17 people have been killed after about 100 fighters storm a police
checkpoint in Peshawar.
Last Modified: 18 May 2011 05:57
The Sangu Mera checkpoint is close to the border of Khyber tribal region, where
Taliban fighters are known to hide out
About 100 fighters have attacked a security checkpoint near the Pakistani city
of Peshawar, sparking a three-hour clash that killed two police officers and 17
gunmen, police said.
"They were armed with AK-47 rifles and rockets. We successfully repulsed the
first attack. They attacked again and then there was an exchange of fire that
lasted for about two-and-a-half hours," Abdul Jabbar, a security official, told
Reuters on Wednesday.
The midnight attack on the Sangu Mera checkpoint comes amid Taliban threats to
avenge the May 2 US raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden near the
Pakistani capital Islamabad.
However, it is more likely tied to the Pakistani military's offensives against
anti-government fighters in the country's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistan's army has carried out anti-insurgent operations in six of its seven
tribal districts.
Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said: "There is
fear of renewed offensive by the Pakistan Taliban. The way they have been able
to strike, from Karachi to Peshawar, shows they are still a force and a problem
for the Pakistani government and the security forces."
Sangu Mera lies just along the border of Khyber tribal region, one of the areas
where Taliban and other fighters have hideouts and where the Pakistani army has
staged multiple operations.
The checkpoint is about 10km away from Peshawar, a strategically important city
along the way to Afghanistan.
Quetta attack
In a similar incident on Tuesday in Quetta, the capital of restive southwestern
Baluchistan province, Pakistani troops killed five attackers including three
women after a firefight.
Officials said the group was trying to carry out an attack on a security
checkpoint. Paramilitary sources said they had hand grenades and bombs strapped
to their bodies.
The Al Jazeera correspondent said: "There have been some doubts cast over the
whole incident in Quetta. There are reports that those people were not armed.
There are questions whether the paramilitary forces overreacted and used
excessive firepower. Details are still coming out."
Quetta is believed to be a base for the Afghan Taliban leadership.
The Pakistani Taliban, who are close to al-Qaeda and have vowed to avenge bin
Laden's death, said that their suicide bombers killed at least 76 people last
week at a paramilitary academy in the northwestern town of Charsadda.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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