Islamabad, June 27: The suicide bomber, who carried out the first-ever suicide bombing in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir, was on Saturday identified as a Taliban militant from Waziristan, with media reports saying the incident could trigger an intra-militant fratricide.
The attack has apparently rattled the Pakistani
leadership, which has reacted angrily saying such attempts
will not destruct the security forces from carrying out their
mission to bring stability to the restive NWFP and wipe out
the Taliban from the region.
But the attack has triggered an alarm keeping in view
the presence of large numbers of other militant groups in and
around Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK.
"The Kashmir area has a sizeable military presence,
given its disputed status with India. The potential for attack
is immense. Such a development could also bring extremist
forces still based in Kashmir into the conflict and thus make
it even more complicated than it already is," The News daily
said in an editorial comment.
The bomber has been identified as Qadir, the son of
Abdur Rahim, hailing from the Waziristan tribal region, PoK
Prime Minister Sardar Yaqoob Khan told the region's assembly.
The area targeted by the bomber had barracks occupied
by the 'Azad Kashmir Regiment', whose personnel are
participating in the operation against the Taliban in Swat and
nearby areas.
Other officials said 150 suspects had been arrested in
a crackdown following the attack in Muzaffarabad. Among those
who were arrested are suspected Afghan nationals and persons
belonging to the North West Frontier Province.
The bomber, described by witnesses as a youth aged
about 18, detonated his explosives in a residential area for
junior officers of the Pakistan Army. Two soldiers were killed
and three more injured in the blast.
The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed
responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out to
give a message that the group had not been affected by air
strikes and shelling on militant hideouts in Waziristan.
There is a sizeable presence of cadres of banned
militants groups, including the Lashker-e-Taiba, in PoK.
LeT operative Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, currently facing
trial in an anti-terror court for alleged involvement in the
Mumbai attacks, was arrested during a raid near Muzaffarabad
in December last year.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, June 27, 2009, 18:25