(6)Suicide bomber kills senior Pakistani general in Rawalpindi
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| Aftermath of the blast in Rawalpindi. AP Photo via NDTV. |
The Taliban have struck again in the military garrison city of Rawalpindi. The latest suicide attack in the sister city of Islamabad claimed the life of Lieutenant General Mushtaq Ahmed Baig, the Surgeon General of Army Medical Corps. Mushtaq is the senior-most officer killed since the al Qaeda attacks on the US on Sept. 11, 2001.
Seven others were killed in the attack and 20 were wounded after a Taliban suicide bomber rammed into Mushtaq's staff car. The attack occurred close to the military hospital and a post office. Several vehicles and shops were damaged in the strike.
Today's suicide bombing comes one day after the rearrest of senior Taliban leader Mullah Obaidullah Akhund in Lahore. Obaidullah was in Lahore raising money to fund Taliban operations in Afghanistan. On Feb. 11, Pakistani security forces also arrested Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, the Taliban's former military commander in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban responded by kidnapping Tariq Azizuddin, the Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan, as he traveled through the tribal agency of Kurram. The Taliban have demanded Dadullah's release in exchange for Azizuddin.
The assassination of General Mushtaq is the seventh major attack inside the military city since July 2007. The last strike occurred on Feb. 4, when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed into a bus carrying military personnel. Six soldiers and four civilians were reported killed and 25 more were wounded in the attack.
The most significant attack in Rawalpindi occurred on Dec. 27, 2007 with the assassination of Pakistan People's Party leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. A shooter and suicide bomber penetrated Bhutto's security perimeter. More than 20 of her supporters and security detail were killed and scores wounded after the suicide bomber detonated. Bhutto was set to become the next prime minister of Pakistan. The attack caused the national and provincial elections to be delayed by five weeks. Al Qaeda and South Waziristan Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud took credit for the assassination.
On Nov. 23, 2007 in Rawalpindi, two suicide bombers struck a post outside the military general headquarters and a bus carrying personnel working for the Inter Services Intelligence agency. Fifteen were killed and scores wounded in the November 2007 bombings.
On Oct. 30, 2007, a suicide bomber killed seven people, including two police officers, and wounded 14 outside of the military headquarters.
On Sept. 4, 2007, a two-pronged suicide attack in Rawalpindi killed at least 26 and wounded over 70. The bombers targeted a bazaar and a bus carrying intelligence agents.
On July 6, 2007 an unidentified group attempted to shoot down Musharraf's airplane as it left the airport at Rawalpindi. Musharraf was traveling with senior military and political leaders.
Rawalpindi's sister city of Islamabad has suffered a series of suicide strikes this year, including an attempt on former Prime Minister Aziz in February and the bombing of a hotel near the Lal Masjid after Pakistani forces stormed the mosque in July.
READER COMMENTS: "Suicide bomber kills senior Pakistani general in Rawalpindi"
Posted by zopyrus at February 25, 2008 12:21 PM ET:
Great article. Say what you want about a man to tries to escape in a dress, Aziz is good on the stump. Look for more to come, obviously.
Posted by Michael at February 25, 2008 2:07 PM ET:
I'm very curious what the elites think now of their decision to push Bhutto onto Musharref.
It appears to have potentially backfired. Or, is the first step to attempt "peaceful" reconciliation, then all out war?
How long can the new leading party put up with the attacks, or the military?
Posted by Neo at February 25, 2008 2:38 PM ET:
Michael,
I think the Bhutto Musharref deal is DOA. I don't think it has hurt the PPP party, it just ain't happening. Where this goes, who knows! It's an extreamly fluid situation that changes character on a daily basis.
This is a historical inflection point, hold on to your britches.
Posted by Neo at February 25, 2008 2:43 PM ET:
On an aside:
Just read the Anthony Cordesman - Washington Post piece in the news sidebar "Two Winnable Wars". It is important that Cordesman has come to a fairly optimistic view. I would characterize the political circumstances surrounding the Pakistani-Afghanistan conflict as even more problematic. It will be difficult for the academics and news print sources to disregard Cordesman's opinion out of hand. I'm anxious to see where he goes with this, or if the forces-that-be try to freeze him out of the debate. Changing peoples mind is very difficult. I'm afraid that much of the country has bought into getting out of Iraq (and Afghanistan) as a moral imperative without regard for outcome or consequences. For most of the political left both of these wars are Bush's wars, not the current episode within much longer ongoing conflicts. To them the onus is on President Bush no mater who ultimately flushes the whole effort down the toilet.
Posted by joe at February 25, 2008 7:29 PM ET:
The pakistani jihadis seem to be really focusing on the medical corps of the pakistani army. This is the second suicide attack targeting them. I wonder if its just coincidence or theres a certain vendetta going on between the two. I could be they are attacking the medics to lower the morale of the Pak army.
Its also interesting how much success the suicide bombers are having in Pakistan compared to Afghanistan where they usually succeed in only blowing up themselves or civilians. The bombers in Pakistan hit their target more often than not. It seems to me that their receiving a lot of inside information from people in the Pakistani establishment.
Posted by Michael at February 28, 2008 3:40 AM ET:
Does anyone else feel let down by the after-election plans of the PPP? Bhutto promised to take on the terrorist. Many important people in this nation pushed for her to go back to Pakistan.
Now they want another peace jirga with Taliban and Al Qaeda?
Were we duped?