The jihadis in Pakistan decided to start the week off in bloody fashion in the Pakistani area of Kohat today by taking out a minibus carrying a number of passengers - police discovered after the explosion that explosives were placed with a timer next to the gas cylinders in the bus.
From the report at DAWN:
A minibus explosion in northwest Pakistan that killed 17 people and injured 11 others Monday was a terrorist attack triggered by a timed bomb, police told AFP.
Revising an earlier report that the blast had been caused by exploding gas cylinders, police in Jawarza, near the restive town of Hangu, said the minibus had been planted with about 10 kilogrammes of explosives.
“The report of the bomb disposal squad shows that explosive materials fitted with a timer were placed near the gas cylinders which caused the explosion,” district police chief Abdul Rashid told AFP from the scene.
“The death toll has risen to 17 and five bodies still remain unidentified, as they have have been burnt very badly,” he added.
The mangled and burned-out wreckage of the minibus and another passenger vehicle were left at the scene.
Rashid said most of the passengers in the minibus had been killed, along with two people travelling in a pick-up truck nearby when the blast occurred.
One has to wonder from this who exactly was the target of this attack. I mean, are the Taliban and/or al Qaeda at the point where just blowing up people that climb aboard a minibus is their "mission"? Or was this a case where the minibus blew up prior to reaching a more strategic destination like a police headquarters or government building?
With the Taliban/al Qaeda, it really gets harder and harder to figure out - I've said it before that part of the makeup of these groups is this innate need to kill. They seem to only be able to go so long without killing someone. So when we see these acts of terrorism and scratch our heads afterwards and ask "why"...well, sometimes we simply have to understand that there IS no rhyme or reason.
We also have to remember that some of these attacks are simply symbolic to the Taliban and al Qaeda - it's a reminder that they are nearby, that they are watching and that everyone in the area better conform to their twisted view of life.
Now, I've been covering Pakistan for nearly three years and I can tell you this, my observation is that in the not so distant future, things will have to come to a head. The violence in that country is beyond comprehension and it seems to me that the Pakistani government is going to end up with a decision to make - they either decide to go full out to drive the Taliban and al Qaeda from their country or they will try to make peace with them and give up the country, in essence.
(Photo above is a file photo)
Minibus bomb attack in Kohat kills 17
PESHAWAR: A minibus explosion in northwest Pakistan that killed 17 people and injured 11 others Monday was a terrorist attack triggered by a timed bomb, police told AFP.
Revising an earlier report that the blast had been caused by exploding gas cylinders, police in Jawarza, near the restive town of Hangu, said the minibus had been planted with about 10 kilogrammes of explosives.
“The report of the bomb disposal squad shows that explosive materials fitted with a timer were placed near the gas cylinders which caused the explosion,” district police chief Abdul Rashid told AFP from the scene.
“The death toll has risen to 17 and five bodies still remain unidentified, as they have have been burnt very badly,” he added.
The mangled and burned-out wreckage of the minibus and another passenger vehicle were left at the scene.
Rashid said most of the passengers in the minibus had been killed, along with two people travelling in a pick-up truck nearby when the blast occurred.
Senior police official Masood Khan Afridi confirmed that the blast was caused by high-intensity explosives.
“It was a terrorist attack,” he said. “We are looking for the owner of the vehicle, as the driver was killed in the blast,” he added.
In the same militant-hit district of Hangu on Friday, a female police constable was killed along with five of her relatives in a pre-dawn raid on her house by attackers armed with rockets and rifles.
The area borders the deeply conservative tribal region of Kurram, a lawless region on the Afghan border where entrenched militants oppose jobs and education for women.
Militants frequently carry out attacks in the area against both civilians and security forces.
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