Hangu massacre first shock for new KP governor

Hangu massacre first shock for new KP governor

 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

 

ISLAMABAD: The massacre of 11 unarmed civilians on board a Parachinar-bound van by militants in Hangu district on Sunday is the first major tragic incident after Barrister Masood Kausar took charge as the KP governor early last month.

Parachinar is the headquarters of Kurram Agency, where over 0.5 million people are under siege for the last almost four years at the hands of militants dubbed by media as the Taliban. The only major link between the rest of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the agency is Tall Road, which is under the control of armed elements and even the FC has not been able to provide foolproof security to convoys.

Legislators from the agency had high hopes there would be significant improvement in the situation, being referred to as a major humanitarian crisis, after Barrister Masood became the governor of the province, the worst affected by terrorist acts in recent years. "I have met the governor and apprised him of the scenario, particularly the seething humanitarian issues in the wake of long-continuing shortage of lifesaving drugs, essential day-to-day items such as flour, sugar and spices since long. More alarmingly, routine life is totally crippled...even it is not safe for schoolchildren to go out," remarked Sajid Hussain Turi, while talking to The News here, following his return from Peshawar, where he called on the governor a day after the tragic incident in Hangu.

 

SOURCE: http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=36278&Cat=2&dt=3/15/2011

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FC soldier, child killed in rocket attack

FC soldier, child killed in rocket attack

 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

MIRAMSHAH: A Frontier Corps (FC) soldier and a child were killed on Monday in a rocket attack on the Razmak military camp in Mir Ali subdivision. Security officials said the rockets were fired from the mountains of the neighbouring South Waziristan tribal region.

One rocket landed in the military camp and exploded, killing a soldier of the Shawal Rifles, a wing of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC). The soldier was identified as Lance Naik Mohammad Ali.

Security forces later started artillery shelling on the suspected hideouts of the militants in the mountains. There was no report of loss of life or damage to property in the shelling. Our Parachinar correspondent adds: The body of Mohammad Ali Turi, son of Hasan Ali Turi, was flown to Parachinar in a military helicopter from Razmak and laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Pewar village with full military honours

 

SOURCE: http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=36270&Cat=2&dt=3/15/2011

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Eleven killed in Hangu van attack

By Manzoor Ali

Published: March 14, 2011

The attack is the first major incident since the reopening of the Thall-Parachinar Road. PHOTO: FILE

PESHAWAR: 

At least 11 people, including three militants and eight passengers, were killed in an attack on a passenger vehicle in Hangu district on Sunday, according to police reports. The attack came barely a month after the reopening of Thall-Parachinar Road, after years of blockade in the highly volatile Kurram Agency.

Hangu district police chief Abdur Rashid Khan told The Express Tribune that at least eight passengers were killed and seven others were injured when suspected militants ambushed a passenger van, which was going to Kohat from the Kurram Agency, around 10:15 am. Khan further confirmed that local police also reached the scene where an exchange of fire resulted in the death of three militants.

Local sources told The Express Tribune that the attack took place approximately 40 kilometres west of the Hangu city in the Mamu Khwar area within the Doaba police station limits. The incident was termed a sectarian attack by locals, as most of those killed and injured were Shia Muslims.

Two Kalashnikovs and a rifle were seized from the possession of the militants. It has yet to be confirmed if there were only three militants, or more who fled the scene.

The attack was the first major incident since warring sects of the Kurram Agency agreed to open the closed road last month.

The road opening brought respite to a region where roads have remained closed for almost three years and locals had no choice but to travel to Afghanistan to reach Peshawar. Hangu district situated in the southern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been in the grip of Taliban violence for the past few years.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2011.

 

SOURCE: http://tribune.com.pk/story/132299/eleven-killed-in-hangu-van-attack/

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Action sought against Kurram peace deal violator

Action sought against Kurram peace deal violators

Monday, March 14, 2011

PARACHINAR: Elders of Turi tribe in Kurram Agency on Sunday asked the government to take action against the violators of the recent peace agreement.

Speaking at a press conference, Yusuf Hussain and Shabbir Hussain said they were extending all-out support to the government and the grand tribal jirga to implement the peace agreement but alleged that the other side was flouting it. "The other party has made a mockery of the peace agreement," Yusuf Hussain said, asking the government to ensure implementation of the peace accord.

Thall-Parachinar Road remained closed for more than four years following the sectarian violence in Parachinar, the headquarters of Kurram Agency. However, it was reopened after a peace agreement was reached between the Sunni and Shia elders in Islamabad on February 3.
 

SOURCE: 

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=36026&Cat=7&dt=3/14/2011

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10 killed as passenger van attacked in Tal

Monday, March 14, 2011

10 killed as passenger van attacked in Tal

Abdul Saboor Khan

PESHAWAR: Unidentified armed men opened fire on a passenger van in Doaba Tal area of Hangu district on Sunday, killing at least ten passengers and wounding seven others.

Reportedly, the van carrying 17 passengers was heading towards Peshawar from Parachinar. 

According to Hangu District Police Officer, Abdul Rasheed Khan, ten people were killed and seven others wounded when the van was attacked by unidentified men near Mamoo Khwar village. 

The attackers, who numbered six, fled the scene but police later launched an operation in the area and killed three of them, Rashid told reporters at the Doaba Police Station. He claimed that a search operation had already been launched to arrest the remaining miscreants.

"After hours of cross-firing, we managed to kill three of them near Chargano Mela, a border area of Kurram Agency," the DPO added.

A police official, who wished anonymity, said that five passengers died on the spot and five more expired while receiving treatment at a hospital in Peshawar. This is the second such attack on a passenger van on Parachinar Road. Earlier, a coach had struck an improvised explosive device (IED) on the same road, injuring eight people. The road had been reopened after four years of its closure as per directives of Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

 

SOURCE: 

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C03%5C14%5Cstory_14-3-2011_pg1_5

Ten Shia community members killed in Pakistan’s sectarian violence

Ten Shia community members killed in Pakistan's sectarian violence

Published: Sunday, Mar 13, 2011, 16:07 IST | Updated: Sunday, Mar 13, 2011, 22:32 IST 

Place: Peshawar | Agency: PTI

Ten members of the minority Shia community were killed and seven more injured when unidentified gunmen attacked a bus in an area in northwest Pakistan that has been hit by sectarian violence in recent months, officials said.

The gunmen targeted the bus near Mammo Khwar area inHangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Eight persons in the bus were killed instantly. Two of the nine persons injured in the attack died later in hospital. All the victims were members of the Shia Turi tribe.

Police chased the attackers and killed three of them, officials said. Four attackers were arrested, they said.

The bus was coming from Parachinar, the main town ofKurram tribal region, to Hangu city.

Hangu district borders the lawless Kurram Agency, where hundreds of people have died in sectarian clashes over the past three years.

Hangu too has witnessed several attacks on the minority Shia sect.

The Peshawar-Parachinar road, which connects the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Kurram Agency, was closed for almost three years due to sectarian tension in the region. It was recently reopened to traffic after clearance by the administration.

Following Sunday's attack, authorities closed the road for all traffic, officials said.

Turi tribesmen of Kurram Agency staged a protest against the killings and demanded that the government should bring the killers to justice

 

SOURCE: 

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_unidentified-gunmen-kill-8-in-northwest-pakistan_1519407

Ten Shia community members killed in Pak sectarian violence

PTI | 10:03 PM,Mar 13,2011

A Muhammad Peshawar, Mar 13 (PTI) Ten members of the minority Shia community were killed and seven more injured when unidentified gunmen attacked a bus in an area in northwest Pakistan that has been hit by sectarian violence in recent months, officials said.The gunmen targeted the bus near Mammo Khwar area in Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.No group claimed responsibility for the attack.Eight persons in the bus were killed instantly.Two of the nine persons injured in the attack died later in hospital.All the victims were members of the Shia Turi tribe.Police chased the attackers and killed three of them, officials said.Four attackers were arrested, they said.The bus was coming from Parachinar, the main town of Kurram tribal region, to Hangu city.Hangu district borders the lawless Kurram Agency, where hundreds of people have died in sectarian clashes over the past three years.Hangu too has witnessed several attacks on the minority Shia sect.The Peshawar-Parachinar road, which connects the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Kurram Agency, was closed for almost three years due to sectarian tension in the region.It was recently reopened to traffic after clearance by the administration.Following today�s attack, authorities closed the road for all traffic, officials said.Turi tribesmen of Kurram Agency staged a protest against the killings and demanded that the government should bring the killers to justice.

 

SOURCE: 

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/ten-shia-community-members-killed-in-pak-sectarian-violence/609174.html

8 killed in attack on van in Pakistan,

8 killed in attack on van in Pakistan, police say

From Nasir Habib, For CNN

March 13, 2011 -- Updated 0933 GMT (1733 HKT)

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Suspected militants opened fire on a commuter van in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, killing eight people, police said.

The attack took place in the Hangu district of the Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa province, said district Police Chief Abdul Rasheed.

The van was traveling from Kurram Agency, one of seven districts that make up the country's tribal region, to Hangu, when five to six gunmen fired on it, he said.

 

SOURCE: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/13/pakistan.shooting/

NW Pakistan ambush kills 9, threatens peace deal

NW Pakistan ambush kills 9, threatens peace deal

(AP) – 2 hours ago

PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen ambushed a van and killed nine civilians Sunday in a stretch of northwestern Pakistan covered by a new peace deal among tribes from rival Muslim sects. Security forces responding to the attack killed three alleged gunmen, police said.

The clash does not bode well for the future of the peace accord in the Kurram tribal region, which ended a four-year conflict that cost hundreds of lives.

Police official Mir Chaman Khan said the attack occurred in Hangu district along the main road from Kurram to the city of Peshawar. The road had recently reopened after the Shiite Muslim Toori and Bangash tribes inked the deal with the Mangal and other Sunni Muslim tribes.

The clash occurred in a Sunni-dominated area. The van was coming from Parachinar, a Shiite-dominated town in Kurram.

Khan declined to speculate on who was behind the attack.

But tribesmen in Kurram also have reported that the Haqqani network, a fiercely independent branch of the Afghan Taliban and a major enemy of U.S. and NATO forces, had cut a deal with the Shiites so it could use Kurram as a staging ground for fighting in Afghanistan.

There have been reports that Taliban militants planned to take advantage of the peace deal to gain more territory along the Afghan border.

The Taliban, who adhere to a hard-line interpretation of Sunni Islam, have at times exploited sectarian and tribal feuds to spread their influence along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

Pakistan's tribal belt is a hotbed of Islamist militant groups, many linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network. The Pakistani army has launched offensives in several areas, and the United States has fired hundreds of missiles at suspected militants using unmanned aircraft in the region.

On Sunday, Pakistani intelligence officials said three suspected U.S. missile strikes in the country's tribal regions killed seven alleged militants and wounded five more.

One of the missile strikes missed a target in Azam Warsak, South Waziristan.

A missile landed near a car carrying militants, who managed to flee before another missile hit the vehicle, two intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk with reporters.

They said six missiles in two other strikes hit a vehicle and a compound in neighboring Spalgah village near Miran Shah in North Waziristan, killing seven militants and wounding five more. They suspected the insurgents killed in the two strikes belonged to the Pakistani Taliban holed up in the compound.

North Waziristan is home to several militant groups focused on fighting U.S. and its allied NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.

Associated Press writer Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iYgAphWIC4P1wczZ9PHgW-q_xJvA?docId=7b6f5900a7a0467e9e4358570a8c28a8

 

SOURCE: 

source: 

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/429522.php

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110313/as-pakistan/

• March 13, 2011

source:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/pakistan-says-spy-chief-to-get-extension-of-his-term-117850628.html

Gunmen kill 10 passengers in Hangu

Gunmen kill 10 passengers in Hangu

Published: March 13, 2011

Masked gunmen open fire on passenger bus travelling from Kurram to Hangu, killing eight people.

Masked gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on a passenger bus travelling from Kurram Agency to Hangu, killing 10 people, on Sunday.

According to Express 24/7 correspondent Iftikhar Firdous, the bus was passing through the area of Tehsil Doaba, which is known to have been a conflict intensive region in the past.

Officials confirmed that that three people died on the spot, while seven others succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. Five other passengers were also injured in the incident.

The DPO of the area informed that search for the culprits had begun, which would be concluded soon.

source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/132003/gunmen-kill-8-passengers-in-hangu/