Pakistani police said yesterday that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and the Taliban were likely linked to a suicide attack near President Pervez Musharraf's army office that killed seven people.
Tuesday's blast in the garrison town of Rawalpindi may also be a reaction to an ongoing government crackdown on militants in northwest Pakistan and a raid on the hardline Red Mosque in Islamabad in July, the city police chief said.
"Taliban and al-Qaeda elements are there. Most probably they could be instrumental in this attack," Rawalpindi police chief Saud Aziz said.
Aziz said police had found the disfigured head of the bomber, who is believed to be about 23 years old and who blew himself up when police stopped him at a checkpost guarding a high security area.
"A plastic surgeon has reconstructed the face of the bomber. Police also found three of his fingers and have sent them to the national registration office for identification," he said.
Police were also carrying out DNA tests on the attacker's remains.
The attack raised further fears for the safety of Musharraf, a key US ally in the "war on terror" who has survived at least three assassination attempts by Islamists who detest his ties to Washington.
The police chief said investigators suspected there could be a link between Tuesday's explosion and the the army's storming of the pro-Taliban Red Mosque, in which scores of people were killed.
The blast happened directly outside the house of a senior general who was reportedly one of the key planners of the operation against militants who had infiltrated the Red Mosque.
Aziz said there could also be connections to operations against a hardline Taliban-style cleric in northwestern Swat Valley and clashes with rebels in Pakistan's troubled tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistan has fought bloody battles in the tribal belt with insurgents who are closely allied to Afghanistan's extremist Taliban militia and who have been blamed for several suicide blasts this year.
"This could have links with the Red Mosque, the situation in Swat and the tribal areas. We have strong suspicions on all three factors," Aziz said.
"We have launched a search of Afghan-dominated areas [in Rawalpindi and nearby Islamabad] and teams are monitoring their neighborhoods," he said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from