Pakistan Security Brief
Pakistan Security Brief – January 15, 2010
New reports indicate Hakimullah Mehsud injured in a fresh drone strike on Friday; Pakistan’s Interior Minister reports on Ashura blast in Karachi; roadside bomb kills Mohmand peace committee members; five bullet-ridden bodies found in Orakzai Agency; strikes called throughout Balochistan; US indicts three individuals on terrorism charges.
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It is still unclear as to whether TTP commander Hakimullah Mehsud is alive. Updated reports suggest the TTP commander may have been injured or killed in a new drone attack launched Friday in South Waziristan. Prior to Friday’s report, TTP spokesman Tariq Aziz claimed the leader was alive and an audio tape believed to be from Mehsud surfaced. However, the tape provided no details indicating that Mehsud recorded the tape after the strike.[1]
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Interior Minister Rehman Malik claims there is sufficient evidence to link Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Jaish-i-Muhammad, and Al Qaeda to the Ashura blast on December 28 that killed 45 people. According to the report, the four groups formed a “network” that was behind the terrorist operation.[2]
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An anti-Taliban peace committee chief, Muhammad Akbar, was killed by a roadside bomb in Mohmand Agency on Thursday. One other person was killed and seven were wounded from the blast as the group traveled through Dorbakhel. A local TTP spokesman for the Mohmand area claimed responsibility for the attack.[3]
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Bodies of five suspected militants, all containing multiple gunshot wounds, were discovered in the Darra Adam Khel region, which is located in Orakzai Agency. Pakistani troops have been conducting operations against militants in the region recently, but Pakistani officials deny any involvement in the killings.[4]
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Strikes were observed on Friday throughout Balochistan due to the targeting of Balochis in Karachi. In recent weeks target killings have swept through Karachi, killing individuals based on political, religious, and regional affiliation. The Baloch National Front called for the strikes.[5]
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The US indicted Ilyas Kashmiri, Tahawwur Rana, and Abdur Rehman on Thursday. Kashmiri was a leader of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami and is accused of assisting with a plot to attack Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper. Rana and Rehman are believed to have helped David Headley as he gathered information for the Mumbai attacks in November 2008. Kashmiri also had contact with Headley.[6]
