Militants Hit Pakistan Spy Agency in New Escalation

Militants Hit Pakistan Spy Agency in New Escalation
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: November 12, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/world/asia/13pstan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th


ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Militants stepped up their fight against the Pakistani government on Friday, striking a building belonging to the country’s main intelligence agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar, Pakistani television reported.

Pakistani hospital staff carried a man who was injured in the blast in Peshawar.

The early morning explosion killed at least eight people and wounded more than 30 in what has become a grimly familiar cycle of violence. Peshawar, a bustling city on the edge of Pakistan’s western frontier, has been particularly hard hit, with near daily bombings that have unsettled residents and interrupted daily rhythms.

“Peshawar seems to have become the main target,” said Hasan Askary, an analyst, speaking on Dawn Television.

The bombing’s location left no doubt about the insurgent’s motive: Pakistan’s intelligence agency is a symbol of the power of the military, which has been conducting a campaign against Taliban militants in the western mountains of South Waziristan.

The intelligence agency, know by its initials, ISI, has carried out operations against al Qaeda operatives hiding in the western mountains, and in recent years, it has itself become a target. An ISI building was attacked this spring in Lahore, one of Pakistan’s largest cities.

Militants have hidden in Pakistan’s western tribal areas for years, but have only recently begun to attack the state itself. That shift eventually prompted broad military action, which represented a break from the past, when the security forces and Pakistani society were deeply ambivalent about fighting militants.

Now, the military’s offensive in South Waziristan has, in turn, prompted a sharp increase in insurgent attacks on the police and military, as well as on public markets and other locations where there have been many civilian casualties.

Residents in Peshawar said the bomb could be heard around the city, ratting windows with a big boom. Video on Pakistani television showed a building whose corner had collapsed, and rescue workers clearing a closed, debris scattered street.

“It was the biggest explosion I’ve ever heard,” a city resident, Asad Ali, said, according to Reuters.

Peshawar Police chief Liaqat Ali Khan said a car bomber had attacked the main gate of the complex, the Associated Press reported.

The United States has pushed Pakistan to take tougher action against militants in its territory. Pakistan contends that that it has taken comprehensive action, but that it is hampered by the United States’ foundering effort in Afghanistan.

This spring, Pakistan’s military conducted a broad campaign against militants in a valley north of the capital, Islamabad, and was praised for the relatively low level of civilian casualties. But South Waziristan is the base of the Pakistani Taliban and other militants, and military officials believe it will be a more difficult fight.
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