KashifAsrar
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Nearly 80 killed as Pakistan bombs madrassa
Khar, Pakistan
Pakistani helicopter gunships on Monday destroyed an Islamic school used as an al-Qaeda-linked training camp near the Afghan border, killing nearly 80 militants, officials and witnesses said.
The strike targeting a madrassa near Khar, the main town in Bajaur tribal agency, was the biggest for months in the restive frontier region where many al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents have sought sanctuary since 2001.
The bodies of 20 people wrapped in sheets were laid on the ground for funeral prayers near the site and locals were still pulling corpses from the rubble and putting them in sacks, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent said.
"The information that we are getting from the area is that the death toll is close to 80, a senior Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A local Taliban commander known as Maulvi Liaqat, who ran the madrassa and was wanted by the authorities for sheltering insurgents, was among the dead, the official said.
Chief military spokesperson Major General Shaukat Sultan would not confirm the death toll but said up to 80 militants, including some foreigners, were inside the compound when the attack happened at around 5am local time.
"We had information about the presence of 70 to 80 miscreants who were engaging in militant training in this madrassa and we carried out an operation using gunship helicopters and precision weapons," Sultan said.
"Most of the compound was destroyed."
The madrassa was far from any civilian areas and no women or children were inside at the time of the attack.
Witnesses said at least three army helicopters swooped on the madrassa and then they heard a huge explosion before the choppers flew off. Most of the occupants were asleep while some had awoken for pre-dawn prayers, they said.
An Islamist legislator who attended the prayer service, Haroon Rashid, said afterwards that 83 people had been killed. Witnesses also said Maulvi Liaqat was killed.
Three injured people had arrived at a hospital in Khar after the attack, a doctor said. An official earlier said eight had been brought in.
The attack came two days after thousands of pro-militant tribesmen gathered in Bajaur agency and chanted their support for al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar, security sources said.
The tribesmen also said they would continue "jihad" or holy war to enforce Islamic law.
Sultan said the attack was not linked to the meeting and was based on prior intelligence.
Al-Qaeda's Egyptian deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was said to have escaped a United States missile attack in Bajaur agency in January and it has been a suspected militant hot-spot ever since.
Pakistan's lawless northwestern tribal areas became a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who fled Afghanistan after US-led forces ousted the ultra-Islamic Taliban regime in late 2001.
Pakistani forces have since launched a series of military operations throughout the tribal zones in which more than 1 000 militants and 600 soldiers are said to have died.
Monday's gunship raid also came on the first full day of a visit to Pakistan by Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, during which he is due to meet Musharraf.
Charles is also scheduled to visit a madrassa during his five-day visit as part of an focus on "interfaith harmony". - Sapa-AFP
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=288118&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
Khar, Pakistan
Pakistani helicopter gunships on Monday destroyed an Islamic school used as an al-Qaeda-linked training camp near the Afghan border, killing nearly 80 militants, officials and witnesses said.
The strike targeting a madrassa near Khar, the main town in Bajaur tribal agency, was the biggest for months in the restive frontier region where many al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents have sought sanctuary since 2001.
The bodies of 20 people wrapped in sheets were laid on the ground for funeral prayers near the site and locals were still pulling corpses from the rubble and putting them in sacks, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent said.
"The information that we are getting from the area is that the death toll is close to 80, a senior Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A local Taliban commander known as Maulvi Liaqat, who ran the madrassa and was wanted by the authorities for sheltering insurgents, was among the dead, the official said.
Chief military spokesperson Major General Shaukat Sultan would not confirm the death toll but said up to 80 militants, including some foreigners, were inside the compound when the attack happened at around 5am local time.
"We had information about the presence of 70 to 80 miscreants who were engaging in militant training in this madrassa and we carried out an operation using gunship helicopters and precision weapons," Sultan said.
"Most of the compound was destroyed."
The madrassa was far from any civilian areas and no women or children were inside at the time of the attack.
Witnesses said at least three army helicopters swooped on the madrassa and then they heard a huge explosion before the choppers flew off. Most of the occupants were asleep while some had awoken for pre-dawn prayers, they said.
An Islamist legislator who attended the prayer service, Haroon Rashid, said afterwards that 83 people had been killed. Witnesses also said Maulvi Liaqat was killed.
Three injured people had arrived at a hospital in Khar after the attack, a doctor said. An official earlier said eight had been brought in.
The attack came two days after thousands of pro-militant tribesmen gathered in Bajaur agency and chanted their support for al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar, security sources said.
The tribesmen also said they would continue "jihad" or holy war to enforce Islamic law.
Sultan said the attack was not linked to the meeting and was based on prior intelligence.
Al-Qaeda's Egyptian deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was said to have escaped a United States missile attack in Bajaur agency in January and it has been a suspected militant hot-spot ever since.
Pakistan's lawless northwestern tribal areas became a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who fled Afghanistan after US-led forces ousted the ultra-Islamic Taliban regime in late 2001.
Pakistani forces have since launched a series of military operations throughout the tribal zones in which more than 1 000 militants and 600 soldiers are said to have died.
Monday's gunship raid also came on the first full day of a visit to Pakistan by Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, during which he is due to meet Musharraf.
Charles is also scheduled to visit a madrassa during his five-day visit as part of an focus on "interfaith harmony". - Sapa-AFP
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=288118&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
this is totally wrong musharraf has no rights to kill his fellow citizens and muslim,s this is realy disgracefull i am totally disheartend
