Death toll in Pakistan hotel bombing rises to 12
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Aug 14, 2011, 6:47:07 PM8/14/11
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Death toll in Pakistan hotel bombing rises to 12
QUETTA, Pakistan — A police official says the number of people killed in a hotel bombing in southwestern Pakistan has risen to 12.
Jawed Iqbal Gharshin says 23 were injured in Sunday's attack in Baluchistan province's Jafferabad district. Gharshin is the police chief in Jafferabad, located some 220 miles (350 kilometers) east of the provincial capital of Quetta.
The bomb ripped through the two-story hotel, causing it to collapse.
No group has claimed responsibility. Baluchistan has experienced a decades-long insurgency by nationalists who want a greater share of the region's natural resources. The province is also believed to be home to many Taliban militants.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Suspected militants fired rockets at a paramilitary base in northwestern Pakistan during an independence day ceremony Sunday, killing three soldiers and wounding 23 others, intelligence officials said.
Soldiers had just finished raising the Pakistani flag and were gathering for speeches when the rockets hit the base in Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal area, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
North Waziristan is the main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region along the Afghan border. The militants often launch attacks against foreign troops in Afghanistan.
The U.S. has repeatedly demanded that Pakistan launch an offensive against the militants in North Waziristan, but the government has refused, saying its forces are stretched too thin by operations in other parts of the tribal area.
Many analysts believe Pakistan is reluctant to target Afghan Taliban militants with whom it has historic ties and who could be useful allies in Afghanistan after foreign troops withdraw.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the area is filled with Pakistani Taliban militants who have declared war against the state. In contrast, the Afghan Taliban have concentrated on fighting in Afghanistan.
Also Sunday, a bomb ripped through a two-story hotel in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, collapsing the building and killing at least three people, said senior police officer Jawed Iqbal Gharshin. At least 17 people were wounded in the attack in Jafferabad district, located some 220 miles (350 kilometers) east of the provincial capital of Quetta, he said.
Authorities fear the death toll could rise because there were more than 30 people in the hotel when the attack happened, said Gharshin. Rescue workers are searching the rubble for missing people, he said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Baluchistan has experienced a decades-long insurgency by nationalists who want a greater share of the region's natural resources. The province, which is located next to Afghanistan, is also believed to be home to many Taliban militants.
Elsewhere in Baluchistan, two gunmen riding a motorcycle killed a local journalist in the city of Khuzdar, located some 170 miles (270 kilometers) from Quetta, said area police chief Qadir Shaikh. Munir Shakir was walking to his office in the main bazaar when he was attacked, he said.
___
Associated Press writer Abdul Sattar contributed to this report from Quetta.
Death toll in Pakistan hotel bombing rises to 12
QUETTA, Pakistan — A police official says the number of people killed in a hotel bombing in southwestern Pakistan has risen to 12.
Jawed Iqbal Gharshin says 23 were injured in Sunday's attack in Baluchistan province's Jafferabad district. Gharshin is the police chief in Jafferabad, located some 220 miles (350 kilometers) east of the provincial capital of Quetta.
The bomb ripped through the two-story hotel, causing it to collapse.
No group has claimed responsibility. Baluchistan has experienced a decades-long insurgency by nationalists who want a greater share of the region's natural resources. The province is also believed to be home to many Taliban militants.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Suspected militants fired rockets at a paramilitary base in northwestern Pakistan during an independence day ceremony Sunday, killing three soldiers and wounding 23 others, intelligence officials said.
Soldiers had just finished raising the Pakistani flag and were gathering for speeches when the rockets hit the base in Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal area, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
North Waziristan is the main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region along the Afghan border. The militants often launch attacks against foreign troops in Afghanistan.
The U.S. has repeatedly demanded that Pakistan launch an offensive against the militants in North Waziristan, but the government has refused, saying its forces are stretched too thin by operations in other parts of the tribal area.
Many analysts believe Pakistan is reluctant to target Afghan Taliban militants with whom it has historic ties and who could be useful allies in Afghanistan after foreign troops withdraw.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the area is filled with Pakistani Taliban militants who have declared war against the state. In contrast, the Afghan Taliban have concentrated on fighting in Afghanistan.
Also Sunday, a bomb ripped through a two-story hotel in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, collapsing the building and killing at least three people, said senior police officer Jawed Iqbal Gharshin. At least 17 people were wounded in the attack in Jafferabad district, located some 220 miles (350 kilometers) east of the provincial capital of Quetta, he said.
Authorities fear the death toll could rise because there were more than 30 people in the hotel when the attack happened, said Gharshin. Rescue workers are searching the rubble for missing people, he said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Baluchistan has experienced a decades-long insurgency by nationalists who want a greater share of the region's natural resources. The province, which is located next to Afghanistan, is also believed to be home to many Taliban militants.
Elsewhere in Baluchistan, two gunmen riding a motorcycle killed a local journalist in the city of Khuzdar, located some 170 miles (270 kilometers) from Quetta, said area police chief Qadir Shaikh. Munir Shakir was walking to his office in the main bazaar when he was attacked, he said.
___
Associated Press writer Abdul Sattar contributed to this report from Quetta.
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