Pakistan Security Brief
Pakistan Security Brief –March 8, 2010
TTP claims responsibility for deadly bomb in Lahore; police detain US-born al-Qaeda operative in Karachi; Maulvi Noor Mohammad killed in North Waziristan; TTP leadership failing to meet; 22 platoons dismissed from the Frontier Constabulary; Pakistani jets bomb targets in South Waziristan; bombs diffused in Hangu.
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A spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said his organization is responsible for the suicide blast at the Federal Investigation Agency building in Lahore. Pakistani officials used the building for interrogating high-value detainees, but it collapsed following the blast. At least 13 people were killed and 68 were injured.[1]
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Abu Yahya Mujahideen al-Adam, a US citizen born in Pennsylvania who commanded fighters in Afghanistan, was arrested in Karachi recently. American officials have little information on al-Adam, and details on the arrest are not available. Earlier reports, however, originally named the detained person as Adam Gadahn, an American who converted to Islam and joined al-Qaida. The FBI has a one million dollar reward listed for the capture of Gadahn.[2]
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A Taliban commander in North Waziristan, Maulvi Noor Mohammad, was killed by unknown gunmen on Friday. Mohammad was outside a relative’s residence on the outskirts of Miranshah when the gunmen opened fire. Reports claim he was killed by the relatives of a man he recently tortured and killed. Noor Mohammad commanded four hundred Taliban fighters in North Waziristan and was allied to local Taliban commander, Hafiz Gul Bahadur.[3]
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Several sources inside the Taliban say it has been two months since the top TTP leadership convened a meeting. Despite the rumors that Hakimullah Mehsud, the most recent TTP leader, is dead, no other Taliban commander has announced himself as Mehsud’s replacement.[4]
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Up to 903 personnel—members of 22 platoons—of the Frontier Constabulary were released from service after refusing orders. The platoons were part of an operation that ended on March 5th in Pastawani and Musa Darra. Soon after returning to their home stations, the platoons were ordered to redeploy immediately to the area. Officers dismissed the personnel after the platoons refused the order and failed to redeploy.[5]
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Pakistani fighter jets bombed militants in Sararogha sub-district of South Waziristan on Sunday, killing at least eight people and injuring two.[6]
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Unknown militants placed two bombs in a bazaar in Hangu district on Saturday. Police safely diffused the bombs, locating one in an internet café and the other in an English language academy.[7]
