Deadly Shootout in Pakistan Army Headquarters.

Ab-Titchaz

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Jan 30, 2008
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Deadly Shoot Out At Pakistan Army HQ's


Eight soldiers and four gunmen have been killed in an attack on Pakistan's army HQ outside the capital Islamabad, the military says.

Troops engaged the gunmen after they tried to enter the heavily armed complex in Rawalpindi wearing army uniforms.

Initial reports the incident was over proved untrue, after officials said two gunmen remained at large. The attack follows a series of bombings in north-western Pakistan.

On Friday at least 50 died in a blast in Peshawar.

It also comes as the army prepares a major operation against the Taliban.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says that in recent days Taliban positions in the tribal areas have been bombed by the air force, amid speculation that the army's offensive there is soon to be intensified.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8300371.stm
 
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The Militants drove into the heavily guarded compound in the white van, pictured right and begun shooting and throwing grenades.


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Helicopters flew around the compund as the fighting intensified.

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Gunmen hold hostages in Pakistan army headquarters

By ASIF SHAHZAD,
Associated Press Writer

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – Militants were holding around a dozen soldiers hostage inside Pakistan's army headquarters Sunday more than 16 hours after storming the complex in a show of strength ahead of an expected offensive on their stronghold along the Afghan border.

Six soldiers, including two ranking officers, and four militants were killed in the attack by heavily armed assailants who wore military uniforms and drove up to the front gate of the heavily fortified complex close to the capital in a white van before bundling out, opening fire and hurling grenades.

The government said the assault on the headquarters, which followed a bloody market bombing and a suicide blast at a U.N. aid agency in the past week, had strengthened its resolve to push into South Waziristan - a mountainous region home to al-Qaida leaders where security forces have been beaten back by insurgents after suffering heavy losses.

The attack was confirmation that the militants had regrouped following the recent killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. missile attack and raised fears they would respond to any offensive with stepped up attacks around the nuclear-armed country.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said "four or five" assailants were holding between 10 and 15 troops hostage in a building close to the main gates of the complex in Rawalpindi, a city near the capital, Islamabad. No senior military or intelligence officials were among those being held, he said.

Abbas said special forces troops had surrounded the building. "They will decide how and when to act," he said, declining to comment on whether authorities had attempted to talk to the hostage takers or whether they had made any demands.

No group claimed responsibility, but authorities were sure that the Pakistani Taliban or an allied Islamist militant group were behind it.

Late Saturday, sporadic gunfire was heard coming from the complex.

In its brazenness and sophistication, the assault resembled attacks in March in the eastern city of Lahore by teams of militants against the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team and a police training center, which the insurgents took over for 12 hours before security forces retook it.

Saturday's attack began shortly before noon when at least eight gunmen attacked the main gate.

"There was fierce firing, and then there was a blast," said Khan Bahadur, a shuttle van driver who was standing outside the gate of the compound. "Soldiers were running here and there," he said. "The firing continued for about a half-hour. There was smoke everywhere. Then there was a break, and then firing again."

After a 45-minute gunfight, four of the attackers were killed, said Abbas.

He initially told the Geo television news channel that the assault was over and the situation "under full control."

But more than an hour later, gunshots rang out from the headquarters compound, and Abbas then confirmed that other gunmen had eluded security forces and slipped into the compound. The city is filled with security checkpoints and police roadblocks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091010/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan
 
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Militants launched a string of bold strikes in Pakistan on Thursday, leaving at least 37 police officers and civilians dead, authorities said.

At least 11 militants also died in the fighting, while others were missing.
Three nearly simultaneous assaults were carried out mid-morning in the eastern city of Lahore, said police spokesman Rai Nazar Hayat.
Militants stormed Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency, along with two police training centers. The attackers gained entrance to each facility, setting set off explosives and taking hostages in some cases. At least 25 people died in the Lahore attacks. In northwestern Pakistan, a suicide car bomber hit a police station in the Kohat district, killing at least 11 people -- eight civilians and three police, said Kohat Police Chief Dilawr Bangish. A dozen people were injured in the attack.
The offices of several senior police and government officials are next to the police station that was targeted. Several military installations also are nearby. In Peshawar, a remote control bomb exploded inside a car parked in front of an apartment building.
A hospital official said an 8-year-old boy was killed and eight people -- four women, two men and two children -- were wounded. One of the children, a girl, is in critical condition. The blast took place in a residential area for government officials and employees. Militant attacks have become increasingly bold in recent days.
At least 41 people were killed and 45 wounded in a blast Monday at a security forces checkpoint in northwest Pakistan. The explosion occurred in the Shangla district in the volatile Swat Valley.
On Saturday, militants attacked the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, killing 11 military personnel and three civilians, according to the Pakistani military. Nine militants died in the attack. A total of 39 hostages were freed Sunday morning after being held by five militants at the army headquarters.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/15/pakistan.blast/index.html
 
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