Friday, December 26, 2008
PESHAWAR: A previously-unknown pro-Taliban group, Ansar Wa Mohajir, has claimed responsibility for Wednesdays bomb explosion in Lahore and the earlier rocket attacks on Dera Ismail Khan.
Toofan Wazir, identifying himself as a commander and spokesman of the group, phoned The News from somewhere in North Waziristan to claim responsibility for the two attacks. He threatened more attacks against the security forces and the government installations to avenge the two recent US missile strikes in North Waziristan in which several militants belonging to the Punjab were killed.
According to Toofan Wazir, the US drones fired the missiles at Pakistani targets with the agreement and cooperation of the government of Pakistan. He said revenge would be taken from both the Americans and the Pakistan government. In Pakistan, he warned, suicide bombings would be carried out and bombs would be planted and exploded at important government installations.
Toofan Wazir, which doesnt appear to be his real name, claimed his men were Ansar who hosted the Mohajir or refugees who had come from different countries and also from places in Pakistan to find refuge in Waziristan. He said the group was committed to protect the foreigners who were the guests of local tribesmen.
However, there was discrepancy in Toofan Wazirs account and the situation on the ground in Lahore. He claimed it was a suicide bombing, targeting a government installation. But the police in Lahore were saying the explosion took place in a mini-truck carrying explosives. Wazir was also confused about the target of the attack as the explosion took place in a residential area reserved for government officers. Rather it was a housing colony that was attacked and not some important government functionary.
Toofan Wazirs account of the rocket attacks in Dera Ismail Khan also differed from the situation on the ground. He told The News in an earlier phone call that 10 rockets had been fired and the target was the airport in Dera Ismail Khan. However, reports coming from Dera Ismail Khan said only six rockets were fired and that too on a portion of the military garrison and other parts of the city. As a couple of rockets and the launching pad were later found in a sugarcane field and seized by the police, it is possible that the number of rockets readied for the mission was 10.
It isnt possible to find out if Toofan Wazirs group, Ansar Wa Muhajir, was indeed involved in the bomb blast in Lahore and the rocket attacks in Dera Ismail Khan. But it appears obvious that he and his men are pro-Taliban and part of the Pakistani Taliban. His group is trying to claim the responsibility of the attacks on its own without detaching itself from the Pakistani Taliban.
source
