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Suicide attacks kill 70+
15/07/2007 18:11 - (SA)
Islamabad - Police say suicide bombers have killed more than 50 people after Islamic militants called for jihad over a deadly army raid on a pro-Taliban mosque.
At least 26 people were killed in a blast at a police recruitment centre in the North West Frontier Province, hours after two explosives-packed cars plowed into an army convoy in the province's Swat Valley, claiming 17 lives.
A suicide car bomber killed 24 people in a similar attack on a paramilitary convoy in the North Waziristan tribal region on Saturday, launching the string of attacks that has left scores of troops and civilians wounded.
The bloodshed came amid outrage across the mainly Muslim nation over the army's raid on Islamabad's Red Mosque last week, which has saddled President Pervez Musharraf with the worst crisis since he took power in 1999.
The army attack that killed 86, mostly militants, led Al-Qaeda's number two to call for jihad against the Pakistan government, which has sent thousands of troops into remote tribal areas to try to keep a lid on bubbling popular anger.
Pro-Taliban militants in North Waziristan scrapped a controversial peace accord reached with the government last year, in which the tribal groups had promised to hunt down foreign fighters in return for security assurances.
The Taliban Shura (Taliban Council) said in pamphlets that it would refuse all dialogue and co-operation with authorities after the government had failed to meet a deadline to abandon 25 new military checkpoints.
- AFP
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