People unload a dead body, center covered with sheet, and a badly injured victim of a militant attack at a local hospital in Bannu, Pakistan on September 24, 2009. Militants ambushed a convoy of prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in volatile northwest Pakistan on Thursday.
AP Photo/Ijaz Mohammad
Pakistani authorities have urged tribal elders to speak out against the Taliban, and in turn the militants have killed scores of local leaders. With government backing, some elders have raised militias, known as lashkars, to battle the insurgents. The militias have been compared to Iraq's Awakening Councils, which helped U.S. forces turn the tide against al-Qaida there.
Nine bodies were recovered from the bullet-riddled cars, including at least four tribal elders who had opposed the Taliban in the region, said Ajaz Khan, another police officer. Six people were hospitalized with injuries, he said.
Armed local residents came out of their homes and fought off the Taliban after the ambush, preventing them from killing the survivors, Khan said. Witness Inayatullah Khan said tribesmen killed two militants in the gunbattle. Security forces later arrived in the Khaisur area and joined the fight.
Soldiers killed at least six militants in the nearby Malakand region during a clash early Thursday, police said.
Insurgents ambushed a vehicle carrying Pakistani troops near an Afghan refugee camp, police official Akram Khan said. The soldiers returned fire and killed the six attackers, he said. None of the troops was hurt.
The military said in a statement that 10 suspects were arrested in operations over the past 24 hours and 15 militants surrendered to security forces. [rc]
Other contributors to this report
Zarar Khan, AP in Islamabad
Hussain Afzal, AP in Parachinar
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.
September 24, 2009
PAKISTAN: Tribal elders gunned down by Taliban
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan / Associated Press / September 24, 2009
By Riaz Khan, AP
Militants ambushed a convoy of prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in volatile northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, spraying their cars with gunfire and killing nine people, police said. The members of the anti-Taliban citizens' group were traveling from the Machikhel area to meet security officials in Bannu district when their three-vehicle convoy was attacked by insurgents, police officer Mohammad Ghani Khan said.
People unload a dead body, center covered with sheet, and a badly injured victim of a militant attack at a local hospital in Bannu, Pakistan on September 24, 2009. Militants ambushed a convoy of prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in volatile northwest Pakistan on Thursday.
AP Photo/Ijaz Mohammad
Pakistani authorities have urged tribal elders to speak out against the Taliban, and in turn the militants have killed scores of local leaders. With government backing, some elders have raised militias, known as lashkars, to battle the insurgents. The militias have been compared to Iraq's Awakening Councils, which helped U.S. forces turn the tide against al-Qaida there.
Nine bodies were recovered from the bullet-riddled cars, including at least four tribal elders who had opposed the Taliban in the region, said Ajaz Khan, another police officer. Six people were hospitalized with injuries, he said.
Armed local residents came out of their homes and fought off the Taliban after the ambush, preventing them from killing the survivors, Khan said. Witness Inayatullah Khan said tribesmen killed two militants in the gunbattle. Security forces later arrived in the Khaisur area and joined the fight.
Soldiers killed at least six militants in the nearby Malakand region during a clash early Thursday, police said.
Insurgents ambushed a vehicle carrying Pakistani troops near an Afghan refugee camp, police official Akram Khan said. The soldiers returned fire and killed the six attackers, he said. None of the troops was hurt.
The military said in a statement that 10 suspects were arrested in operations over the past 24 hours and 15 militants surrendered to security forces. [rc]
Other contributors to this report
Zarar Khan, AP in Islamabad
Hussain Afzal, AP in Parachinar
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.
People unload a dead body, center covered with sheet, and a badly injured victim of a militant attack at a local hospital in Bannu, Pakistan on September 24, 2009. Militants ambushed a convoy of prominent anti-Taliban tribal elders in volatile northwest Pakistan on Thursday.
AP Photo/Ijaz Mohammad
Pakistani authorities have urged tribal elders to speak out against the Taliban, and in turn the militants have killed scores of local leaders. With government backing, some elders have raised militias, known as lashkars, to battle the insurgents. The militias have been compared to Iraq's Awakening Councils, which helped U.S. forces turn the tide against al-Qaida there.
Nine bodies were recovered from the bullet-riddled cars, including at least four tribal elders who had opposed the Taliban in the region, said Ajaz Khan, another police officer. Six people were hospitalized with injuries, he said.
Armed local residents came out of their homes and fought off the Taliban after the ambush, preventing them from killing the survivors, Khan said. Witness Inayatullah Khan said tribesmen killed two militants in the gunbattle. Security forces later arrived in the Khaisur area and joined the fight.
Soldiers killed at least six militants in the nearby Malakand region during a clash early Thursday, police said.
Insurgents ambushed a vehicle carrying Pakistani troops near an Afghan refugee camp, police official Akram Khan said. The soldiers returned fire and killed the six attackers, he said. None of the troops was hurt.
The military said in a statement that 10 suspects were arrested in operations over the past 24 hours and 15 militants surrendered to security forces. [rc]
Other contributors to this report
Zarar Khan, AP in Islamabad
Hussain Afzal, AP in Parachinar
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.
