Bruce Loudon | November 08, 2008
NEW DELHI: At least 23 key tribal elders were killed last night and more than 60 wounded when a teenage suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a crucial meeting called to decide how to repulse al-Qa'ida and Taliban attacks in Pakistan's militant-infested tribal areas.
The deadly blast came as violence engulfed the region, with rockets fired by militants raining down on the runway of the airport in the major provincial capital of Peshawar, a 90-minute drive from Islamabad, the capital.
The slaying of so many elders within the Salarzai tribe, which had been leading efforts to raise tribal armies against al-Qa'ida and Taliban militants, is a major setback in the Pakistani Government's battle for Bajaur, the tribal area that has been the main militant stronghold.
NEW DELHI: At least 23 key tribal elders were killed last night and more than 60 wounded when a teenage suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a crucial meeting called to decide how to repulse al-Qa'ida and Taliban attacks in Pakistan's militant-infested tribal areas.
The deadly blast came as violence engulfed the region, with rockets fired by militants raining down on the runway of the airport in the major provincial capital of Peshawar, a 90-minute drive from Islamabad, the capital.
The slaying of so many elders within the Salarzai tribe, which had been leading efforts to raise tribal armies against al-Qa'ida and Taliban militants, is a major setback in the Pakistani Government's battle for Bajaur, the tribal area that has been the main militant stronghold.
Source: The Australian
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