Suicide Gunmen Attack Mosque Near Pakistani Army HQ - 40 dead

I wonder, does a jihadi get 72 virgins if he kills 40 muslims who are spread out on the floor of a mosque praying? Interesting question.

Well, near the Pakistani army headquarters in Rawalpindi there's a mosque that was packed today with civilians and army officers which was then attacked by jihadi gunmen shooting and throwing grenades. When the dust and blood settled, there were 40 dead - 4 of them from the attacking group.

From the article at Times Online:

Suspected Islamic militants stormed a mosque close to Pakistan army headquarters in Rawalpindi today killing at least 40 people including several army officers and 10 children.
Six gunmen attacked the mosque packed with worshipers with grenades and opened fire before two of them blew themselves up.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but security officials blamed the Taleban. “It is a retaliation to the military operation in South Waziristan,” said Mr Malik.

Now, you can see that local officials are blaming the Taliban and that could very well be true but I'm holding out on my guess for right now just because this attack has some similiar elements of the Mumbai massacre that was carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba - you see, while the Pakistani military is busy pounding the Taliban and those same Taliban HAVE been attacking many civilian targets over the past month, the Pakistani army has also taken a toll on Lashkar-e-Taiba. At the same time, what makes me hesitate here is the influence of al Qaeda on the Taliban - I'm interested why this wasn't a car bombing of the mosque of it was al Qaeda linked Taliban....certainly, a car bombing would have taken out 4 times as many here. If you remember, the Mumbai massacre was basically very similar to this with attackers using rifles and grenades. I guess we'll have to wait and see who steps up to take credit.

Suicide gunmen kill 40 at Pakistan army mosque

Suspected Islamic militants stormed a mosque close to Pakistan army headquarters in Rawalpindi today killing at least 40 people including several army officers and 10 children.
Six gunmen attacked the mosque packed with worshipers with grenades and opened fire before two of them blew themselves up.
The cleric had just finished his sermon when an explosion shook worshippers in the Parade Lane mosque.
The attackers had climbed over the compound wall of the heavily fortified mosque which is popular with army officers.

“I heard at least seven blasts before firing started,” said Ishtiaq Ahmed, the driver of an army officer who was injured. More than 150 worshipers were inside the mosque .
Nasir Ali Sheikh was walking towards the mosque when he heard the blast. “They were killing people like animals,” he said. “I couldn’t understand what was happening.”
Aslam Tarin, a senior district official said at least 40 worshipers were killed and more than 80 others injured, many of them seriously. General Mohammed Yousuf, a former vice chief of army staff was among army personnel wounded in the attack. A part of the mosque was also destroyed.
After the attack a helicopter hovered over a wide avenue sealed off by security forces with G3 rifles, apparently searching for militants who may have fled the scene.
Four gunmen were killed in exchanges of fire with the security forces, said an army spokesman. Rehman Malik, the federal interior minister said many army officers were among dead, but they were not identified.
The latest attack was the part of wave of militant violence which has killed more than 400 people since October. The attack underscored the resilience of militant networks despite army offensives against the Taleban in the northwest regions bordering Afghanistan.
Islamic militants have increasingly targeted security installations and personnel as Pakistani forces take-on the Taleban in north-western Pakistan. It was the third militant attack in Rawalpindi’s high security zone in the last two months.
In October gunmen raided the army headquarter which triggered a 22-hour stand-off in which more than two dozen people, including two army officers, were killed. On Wednesday a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Pakistan Naval Headquarter in Islamabad, killing one security guard.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but security officials blamed the Taleban. “It is a retaliation to the military operation in South Waziristan,” said Mr Malik.
More than 30,000 troops backed by air force jets are battling the Taleban and al Qaeda militants in the region bordering Afghanistan. The militants have intensified attacks inside Pakistani cities as they are driven out from their bases. Pakistan military said a large part of South Waziristan had been cleared off the militants.