Suicide Bomber Sets Off VBIED Killing 33 In NW Pakistan

Sobering news today as a group linked to both the Taliban and al Qaeda has masterminded a vehicle bombing in NW Pakistan that killed 33 Pakistani civilians and wounded more than 50 - the jeep, laden with explosives was driven into a crowded market place and detonated.

Here's the full story from The Long War Journal:

Suicide bomber kills 33 in Pakistan's northwest


A suicide bomber killed 33 Pakistanis after detonating a jeep laden with explosives at a market in the insurgency-infested northwest.
The bomber detonated at a market in the largely Shia town of Ustarzai in the district of Kohat. The Pakistanis were gathering to purchase supplies for the upcoming religious festival of Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.
More than 300 pounds of explosives were packed into a jeep, which was then driven into a car in the bazaar and detonated. The blast leveled nearby buildings and more civilians are thought to be trapped beneath the rubble, AFP reported. More than 50 people have been wounded.
Young Shia men descended on the bazaar after the attack and denounced both the Taliban and the Pakistani government. "Shiite youths took control of the bazaar and attacked two police vehicles with sticks and chanted slogans condemning the Taliban and the Pakistani government," AFP reported.
A group calling itself the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi al Almi took credit for the attack. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is an anti-Shia terror group that has integrated with al Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan's tribal areas. The Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has an extensive network in Pakistan and serves as the muscle for terror attacks. The group has conducted numerous suicide and other terror attacks in the tribal areas, the Northwest Frontier Province, and in Punjab province.
Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has a strong presence in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Agencies, particularly in South Waziristan and Arakzai. The Lashkar-i-Jhangvi formed alliances with Taliban commanders Baitullah and Hakeemullah Mehsud as well as with Jaish-e-Mohammed and al Qaeda. Elements of these groups formed the Fedayeen-e-Islam. The Fedayeen-e-Islam took credit for the deadly September 2008 suicide attack on the Islamabad Marriott Hotel and the March 2009 storming of a police station in Lahore.
Senior leaders of the Fedayeen-e-Islam include Qari Hussain Mehsud, a senior deputy to Baitullah who trains child suicide bombers; Qari Mohammed Zafar, the operational commander of the September 2008 attack on the Islamabad Marriott; Asmatullah Moaviya; and Rana Afzal.