Pakistan: Al-Qaeda Regroup Poses Dual Threat

Friday, July 27, 2007
The attempted reopening today in Islamabad of the Red Mosque complex that saw a bloody confrontation between security forces and militant Islamic radicals on July 10-11 is a reminder of the challenges confronting Pakistan's embattled President Pervez Musharraf. The event was descending into rioting as Islamic hard-liners sought to retake the facilities.

Another reminder is taking shape in Washington, where legislators are pressing to tie U.S. aid to Pakistan's success in combating Al-Qaeda. Reuters reported today that U.S. lawmakers are nearing agreement on a bill to would make funds contingent on a crackdown on Al-Qaeda, Taliban, and other militants.

With Pakistan long a source of concern in the U.S.-led counterterrorism effort, there is also new speculation about whether the U.S. military in Afghanistan might be tempted to cross the border into Pakistan to respond to any threat. In the United States, officials have declined to rule out direct strikes against Al-Qaeda targets in Pakistani territory, angering some Pakistanis...
Read article in full HERE

(From article by RFE/RL - Radio Free Afghanistan)
Photo courtesy RFE/RL

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* TheNews.com.pk website has this take on the story... A suicide bomber blew himself up among a group of policemen during clashes at the Lal Mosque here on Friday, killing at least 14 people and injuring over 60 people, most of the victims included the cops, the sources said... The blast came after hundreds of radical students occupied the mosque in the heart of Islamabad after its official government reopening, which followed an army operation earlier this month in which more than 100 people died... Policemen's caps and shoes lay alongside body parts at the scene of the blast in one of the leafy city's busiest bazaars, where police were resting after firing tear gas at stone-throwing protesters, the eyewitnesses said...
Read the rest of the story at link below...
Cops among 14 killed in Islamabad suicide blast

* APP.com.pk website has this short report...
Involvement of foreign hand cannot be ruled out in Aabpara blast: Tariq Azeem

* BBC News website has the Pictures HERE
and Video HERE

More to come I’m sure...
AubreyJ.........