Wednesday 2 October 2013

Pakistan suicide attack on 'militant chief' kills many


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At least 12 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a militant commander's compound in north-west Pakistan, officials say.
Reports said the commander, Nabi Hanfi, had been fighting a branch of the Pakistani Taliban in the region.
The militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) have said they were behind the attack in a remote mountainous area of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Officials said a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into the compound.
Several other people were injured in the attack in the Orakzai tribal area, which is said to be a stronghold for the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda linked militants.
It is unclear if Nabi Hanfi was killed. Local government administrator Wajid Khan told the Associated Press that Hanfi was off base at the time of the attack.
Division over talks
Nabi Hanfi had once been associated with the TTP but later switched sides and began to fight them with his own militia.
There are reports that the Pakistani government had provided some support to his group as part of its strategy of dealing with the threat posed by the TTP.
This attack comes against a backdrop of apparent rifts within the ranks of the Pakistani Taliban over an offer of talks by new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
There are dozens of militant groups operating under the banner of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).
All have sanctuaries in the tribal areas near Peshawar in the north-west - some favour talks, while others don't, correspondents say.
Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been hit by a series of recent bomb attacks, some claimed by, others blamed on Taliban insurgents.

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