Suicide bomb attacks kill 36 in flood-weary Pakistan – US drone kills 20
VOA News
23 August 2010 Pakistani officials say three separate bomb attacks have killed at least 36 people. Police say three people died in a blast on the outskirts of Peshawar. The Associated Press identified the victims as the leader of an anti-Taliban militia, Israr Khan, and two aides. Earlier Monday, authorities said a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mosque in the South Waziristan tribal region, killing a local cleric and at least 25 other people. Police said the cleric, Maulana Noor Mohammed, was the target of Monday’s attack. The area is considered a stronghold of Taliban-controlled militant activity. Elsewhere, a bomb exploded at a meeting of tribal elders in the Kurram region, killing seven people. No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts. …
Bomb Attacks Kill 36 in Flood-Weary Pakistan 
By Dennis Behreandt
Monday, 23 August 2010 17:45 A strike from an unmanned aerial vehicle killed 20 people in Pakistan on August 23. According to Reuters news service, “missiles fired from a U.S. pilotless drone aircraft killed 13 militants and 7 civilians in Pakistan’s North Waziristan.” The attack, and the deaths, illustrate how the unintended consequences of policy decisions and operations conducted decades ago continue to shape events of the present. The sketchy information on the strike was provided by unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials who said the missiles were fired at a militant hideout. According to Reuters, the victims included members of the Afghan Taliban as well as four women and three children. More precisely, however, the area in which the drone attack took place is considered to be stronghold of the Haqqani Network and has been on the receiving end of a number of similar drone attacks. “The Haqqani network is probably one of the most dangerous networks here that we face — direct tie right back into Kabul, for years has been based out of Khost and Paktia, and has now moved into several different provinces like Wardak and Logar,” Major General John Campbell told reporters via a video conference in late July. …
