Taliban claim suicide attack in response to Quran burnings
By Jennifer Rowland
Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - 9:59 AM
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Event notice: Please join the New America Foundation in New York City TODAY, March 6, at 6:30 p.m. for "Obama's Secret Wars" (NAF).
Bloody bombing: Five Afghan civilians were killed on Monday in a suicide attack claimed by the Taliban and targeting an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) vehicle outside the NATO base at Bagram, where Qurans were burned by NATO troops two weeks ago (AJE, BBC, AP, CNN, LAT). Earlier, an attacker blew himself up in a busy area of Jalalabad, killing an Afghan intelligence officer and wounding a dozen security forces and civilians.
President Hamid Karzai met with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker on Monday to discuss plans for a strategic partnership agreement between their two countries, but failed to come to an agreement on the transfer of detainees to Afghan control (NYT, AP, CNN). Disagreements over the details of the agreement reportedly led Karzai's National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta to submit his resignation two months ago, as many Afghan officials worry that without an agreement in place, Afghanistan won't survive past the NATO withdrawal in 2014.
An interview by ABC News' Martha Raddatz with NATO commander Gen. John Allen aired on Monday, in which Gen. Allen affirms that the trust between NATO and Afghan troops remains "so great" that the Afghans were willing to accept the U.S. apology for accidentally burning Qurans (ABC). A Reuters poll found Monday that 56% of Americans support President Barack Obama's decision to apologize for the incident (Reuters).
Internal strife
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders in Bajaur expressed their anger on Monday at the news that the TPP deputy Maulvi Faqir Muhammad had been dismissed at a meeting over the weekend, and said the decision could "create a rift amongst the mujahedeen" (NYT, AFP, BBC, CNN). At least seven militants were killed and nine arrested in a clash with Pakistani security forces in Dera Bugti, Balochistan Province (The News, ET, CNN). Four militants were killed in a clash between rival militant groups the Taliban and Lashkar-i-Islam in Khyber Agency on Monday (Dawn).
On orders from the Supreme Court, a notice was pasted on the door of former president Pervez Musharraf's farmhouse in Islamabad requesting him to appear before the court on March 22 to testify about the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto (ET, AFP). And the core committee of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has formed a committee to investigate whether PPP legislators in Punjab Province were responsible for the loss of a Senate seat to the Pakistan Muslim League in last week's elections (Dawn, ET, DT).
At least five people were injured Monday when the bus they were in came under fire as they were leaving a rally for the Awami National Party (ANP) in Karachi (Dawn). And civil society groups in Peshawar rallied Monday against the Dife-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an umbrella group of hardline political and religious groups that has recently experienced a resurgence in Pakistan (ET).
Wrestling ring
A two-day camel wrestling tournament concluded on Sunday in Dera Ghazi Khan in south Punjab, where the sport is extremely popular (ET). Contrary to popular belief, teaching camels wrestling holds is not an easy task, and the owner of runner-up Tufaan said it requires a lot of patience and skill.
-- Jennifer Rowland
The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed at least 13 people and injured dozens in the northwest part of the country Saturday, authorities said.
The attack at a security checkpoint in the city of Saidu Sharif injured 37, according to Ibrahim Khan, a police official in the Swat District, where the military launched an offensive against the Taliban last year. The city is near Mingora, the largest city in the district.
Khan said the suicide attacker, who was dropped off on a rickshaw, approached a checkpoint manned by police and military personnel.
Security personnel opened fire when the attacker refused to stop. Moments later, the attacker detonated explosives.
Video: Deadly bombings in Pakistan
Video: Dozens killed in blasts
Video: Car bombing rocks Lahore
Video: Exclusive: Pressure on Pakistan
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Azam Tariq, a spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, told CNN by phone that his organization takes responsibility for the deadly blasts in Lahore on Friday and the attack Saturday.
The Saturday blast comes a day after a twin suicide bombing on a military convoy in Lahore killed 44 people and injured nearly 100 others. Assailants targeted military convoys, approaching on foot and detonating their explosives 15 to 20 seconds apart, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah said. Five of the dead were Pakistani soldiers, he said.
"Pakistan has become a colony of Blackwater," Tariq said, referring to the company now known as Xe Services that provided security to U.S. officials in Iraq.
"The government of Pakistan has become puppet of U.S," he added.
Tariq warned that failure to halt operations against the Taliban will lead to more attacks.
"Our 2,000 suicide bombers, who have already spread across the country, will act against security personnel and government installations," Tariq said.
Tariq said the attacks on both days were a retaliation for the killing of innocent "Mujahedeen" by Pakistani government under the orders of the United States. A Pakistani crackdown on militants has resulted in the arrests of top Taliban.
After the twin bombings Friday, a series of low-level blasts occurred in succession in the Iqbal Town area of the city that night. Three people were injured in the blasts and damage was minimal, Lahore Police said.
Earlier this week, gunmen entered a North West Frontier Province compound of the humanitarian agency World Vision, threw grenades, opened fire on the staff inside and detonated a homemade bomb before leaving, according to a World Vision statement.
Journalists Nazar Ul Islam and Nasir Dawar contributed to this report.
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