Security Advisory

1. Weekly Security Report from Oct 10th to Oct 16nd 2009

2. Oct 10,2009 (Peshawar) A massive suicide car bomb Friday ripped through Khyber market in Peshawar, leaving at least 49 people dead, officials said. The blast in a shopping area close to the northwestern city's main Khyber Bazaar also wounded more than 100 people, provincial health minister told. Police official estimated the size of the bomb at around 100 kilogram's. The device was planted in the door panels of the vehicle and included machinegun ammunition, designed to cause maximum casualties.The death toll rose to 54 on Sunday. Oct 11,2009 (Rawalpindi) Six army personnel, including a brigadier and a lieutenant colonel, were killed and five others seriously injured when terrorists clad in army uniform attacked the General Headquarters (GHQ) at around 11:30am on Saturday.19 hour siege was over on Sunday and out of 42 hostages, commandos rescued 39 people alive. 19 people, including eight soldiers, three hostages and eight militants died in the above G.H.Q. strike. Ajmad Farooqi splinter group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack on G.H.Q. Rawalpindi.

3. Oct 11,2009 (Karachi) The situation in Lyari remained tense on Sunday after unidentified gunmen took control of several areas and allegedly killed youngsters in the Baghdadi, Chakiwara and Kalri police limits. The local police said that one young man, identified as Abdul Rehman, was killed by unidentified motorcyclists. Oct 12,2009 (Khar) At least 15 Taliban were killed and 16 others injured after security forces launched ‘Operation Sherdil’ in Mamoond and Salarzai tehsils of Bajaur Agency on Monday. Oct 12,2009 (Quetta) In another incident of target killing, the Chief Inspector Mines and Minerals Balochistan, Engineer Muhammad Ashraf Changezi, was shot dead on the Saryab Road here on Monday.

4. Oct 12,2009 (South Waziristan ) Aircraft bombed militants in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border on Tuesday as government forces prepare for a ground offensive against the militant hub, security officials said. Oct 12,2009 ( Hub) Police arrested four persons after exchange of fire and recover a hand grenade and weapons. Police was tipped that some people were firing on the house of Noor Hussain in Labor Colony. It raided the spotted site and after exchange of fire arrested four accused. Also recovered from them was a hand grenade, two shot guns, axes, cartridges and batons. Oct 13,2009 (Quetta) In another incident of target-killing, Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Vice-President Dr Muhammad Aslam Mirza and his driver were shot dead by unknown armed men in the Shalkot area (Quetta) on Tuesday

5. Oct 13,2009 (Karachi) The Crime Investigation Department of the Sindh police claimed to have arrested a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan commander involved in slaughtering security forces’ personnel from the city CID SSP said that the TTP Commander for Matta, Swat Ahmed Jan alias Ustad Jee was arrested when the CID team led by DSP Choudhry Safdar carried out a raid in Korangi Industrial Area. Illegal arms were also recovered from his possession. Oct 13,2009 ( Karachi) An alleged activist of the Pakistan Peoples Party was gunned down and another was wounded in an incident of target killing, some armed men opened fire on them during the wee hours of Tuesday.

6. Oct 13,2009 (Rawalpindi) The Pakistan Army made a stark admission of the scale of the threat it faces from a nexus of the Taliban, Punjabi and Al Qaeda terrorists and whose attacks are increasingly coordinated, include soldiers in their ranks and span the country, British daily the Guardian said on Tuesday . A Punjabi group linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the attack on G.H.Q. Rawalpindi. Oct 14,2009 (Tank) At least 11 Taliban were killed and seven injured when jet planes bombed the group’s hideouts in South Waziristan on Wednesday, said officials, as more soldiers and tanks moved into the agency for an expected offensive , two jet planes bombed Taliban hideouts in Maidan, Tangi, Bodaizai, Kacha Langar Khel, Sam, Ragh and Salairogha areas of Ladha teshil, killing 11 Taliban , eight members of a family were killed and one injured in airstrikes in Sarokai tehsil, said locals, and political authorities confirmed the civilian casualties. Thousands of civilians have fled South Waziristan in anticipation of a military offensive

7. Oct 14,2009 (Khar) Security forces evicted Taliban from one of their strongholds in Bajaur Agency on Wednesday, said officials. A tribal lashkar also joined troops to flush out Taliban from Mulla Sayed areas in Salarzai tehsil, according to military officials. “The forces and the lashkar have occupied important heights in Damadola, a stronghold of the Taliban, at least 30 Taliban have been killed in the agency over the last three days. Oct 14,2009 (Lahore) Intelligence agencies on Wednesday arrested two suspected suicide bombers from Model Town and recovered a suicide vest from them, sources said. According to the sources, bystanders had apprehended the two men as they were fleeing from security personnel. The suspects were running towards Doongi ground in the Liaqatabad police area, when people present in the ground chased after them. After being caught, the men were handed over to the police who, according to eyewitnesses, transported the men in separate vehicles to an unknown location.

8. Oct 14,2009 (Lakki Marwat ) Lakki police foiled a sabotage bid by defusing a powerful bomb near Darra Pezu town on Bannu-DI Khan busiest road on Wednesday. "On information that a suspected bag was lying under a tree near Pezu city heavy contingent of police force reached the place immediately. Oct 15,2009 (Kohat) At least ten people were killed and several others wounded when a car bomb exploded near the Cantt Police Station in the northwestern Pakistani town of Kohat, 'It was a suicide attack. The bomber ploughed his car into the outer wall of the police station in the town of Kohat, he said, adding that the building was badly damaged. 'Some school children are among the dead,' another policeman at the scene added. Some 20 others have also been wounded. The toll may go up, another police official, Fazle Naeem, added.Kohat is an area close to the militant-riddled tribal regions.

9. Oct 15,2009 (Lahore) Some six police man and eight terrorists were killed in the terror incident of Manawan Police Academy when unidentified armed men, wearing Militia uniforms, opened fire at the training centre Thursday. At least ten terrorists are still inside the building and an exchange of fire with security is still going on. ‘Different group of attackers have attacked and tried to enter two police training centres in Lahore. We now have three near-simultaneous attacks against police facilities. Terrorists also attacked the Elite Police Institute in Bedian, where at least seven people are critically injured, while the security forces are still engaged in an exchange of fire with the terrorists. Oct 15,2009 (N.Waziristan) Four Afghan Taliban were killed in a US drone attack in North Waziristan on Thursday, security officials said. The men belonged to Ghaznavi group of the Jalaluddin Haqqani network of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

10. Oct 15,2009 (Lahore) Five people including three police officers were killed in an attack Thursday on the police investigation building in Lahore, a police official said. Gunmen stormed two police training centres and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the FIA had been cleared of rebels. "They (police) have taken control -- the building has been cleared. The operation is complete. There were five dead total... three of them are police officials. He said that one of the dead was a civilian, describing the fifth fatality as "unidentified.“ Oct 15,2009 (Lahore) Police have arrested around 58 terror suspects from raids in various cities and recovered ammunition, suicide jackets, and hand grenades, a private TV channel reported on Thursday.

11. Oct 15,2009 (Islamabad) Capital Police here Thursday arrested two terrorists and recovered a suicide jacket and other arms from their possession. According to details, the police personnel deployed here at a picket near Saddam Chowk, F-11/2, intercepted three persons riding on a bike. The bike didn’t have any number plate. The police recovered one suicide jacket, one hand grenade and one pistol along with 20 rounds from bikers’ possession. In the meantime, one of three suspected persons managed to escape from the scene, the suspects had been identified as Mubashir Mahboob alias Zain, 23, and Hafiz Abdullah Hafeez alias Abdullah, 24. Mubashir hails from Gojar Khan while Hafeez is a resident of Batagram, NWFP. Oct 15,2009 (Quetta) Two people were injured after unknown militants attacked security officials with grenades on Sariab Road.

12. Oct 15,2009 ( Peshawar) At least 12 people were killed and 24 injured in two bomb blasts in Kohat and Peshawar on Thursday, said police and locals. The first attack came in southern Kohat district, where a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the the Saddar Police Station at around 8am, killing 11 people – including three policemen – and injuring 16 others. Police sources said that around 100 kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack. In the other attack in Peshawar, a remote-controlled car bomb killed a child and injured 12 other people. In Baluchistan, at least two security officials were killed in separate incidents. Oct15,2009 (N.Waziristan)Army warplanes on Thursday bombed suspected Taliban hideouts in the South Waziristan in which 27 people died. There was heavy bombing today. Twenty-seven people were killed, it was not clear how many were terrorists. The dead were killed in three separate locations.

13. Oct 16,2009 (Peshawar) A suspected suicide car bomb blast killed 11 people and injured more than a dozen in Peshawar's Cantonment area on Friday, suicide bomber was in the car that was blown up near two check posts, one belonged to the army and another to the CIA. The number of people killed in the blast was 11, that 11 Civilian people have lost their lives in the attack. Three of them were policemen.

14. Crime Round Up Karachi: An area joint in-charge of Lyari’s Peace Committee (LPC), who was also affiliated with the Pakistan People’s Party, killed in (target killing) in Khajoor Market area A man slaughtered by his brother-in-law in Machar Colony near ICI Bridge in Docks police station limits A man shot dead by armed men riding motorcycle in Block 13 of Gulistan-e-Jauhar in the limits of Shahrah-e-Faisal police station A bullet-riddled body of an unidentified man recovered from Mewa Shah Graveyard in the precincts of Pak Colony police station Lahore: Bodies of teenage couple found near River Bridge in Sherakot police precincts which were slaughtered and later dumped by unidentified people A trader murdered by unknown people in Millat park Cash, cell phone & / or valuables snatched or stolen from various city areas such as Defense,Green Town, Factory Area, Baghbanpura, Factory Area, Raiwind, Muslim Town, South cantt, Shad Bagh, Qila Gujar Singh, Garden Town & Shafiquabad Several vehicles including motor cars and motorcycles stolen or snatched from the areas like Mughalpura, Qila Gujar Singh, Ghaziabad, Millat Park, Lohari Gate, Nolakha, Islampura, Shad Bagh, Bhatti gate, hanjar wal, Old Anarkali & Mustafabad Quetta: Armed men injured two persons while snatching Rupees 0.25 million at Chandi Chowk in Satellite Town

15. Terrorist Alert / Threat Update Oct 12,2009 (Lahore) Intelligence reports have revealed that a large number of foreign terrorists have entered different cities, including Dera Ismael Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan, from different areas along the Pak-Afghan border. Sources told Aaj Kal, the Interior Ministry had issued a notification directing all provincial home departments to beef up security to prevent terror attacks. There is a high risk of terrorist activities in all major cities including Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, Quetta & Islamabad / Rawalpindi after banned militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) threatened to attack Sindh Assembly, MQM center Nine-Zero (KHI), the central jail (KHI) and other important targets in the city including hotels, Jinnah International Airport (KHI) and other public places like public transport hubs. Keeping in view high threat, security has also been increased around Punjab Assembly and adjacent areas as well. We suggest avoiding any of these areas as much as possible to prevent any incidental loss.

16. AmjadFarooqi splinter group of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed the responsibility of latest terrorist attacks in Lahore on October 15, 2009in which left 27 dead and at least 30 injured. The previous terrorist attack on army G.H.Q. in Rawalpindi on Saturday (Oct. 10) and yesterday’s attacks on police training centers and F.I.A. highlight that; Accelerated TTP attacks in different cities demonstrate its strong existence in the country It keeps targeting public security forces (such as Army & Police) It is able to strike even at highly sensitive and secure areas in any city at any time It has ability to take complex terrorist tasks like entering into a secure areas and taking hostages Its capabilities, resources and preparation to strike at multiple targets simultaneously

17. Apparently, the current wave of terrorist attacks are to show their striking capabilities unaffected and undeterred by Swat operation or death of their chief BaitullahMehsud in August 2009 and to muster more support for the new chief. The risk of terrorist attacks continues to be high over next few weeks as more of such attacks in any of the major city from TTP and its splinter groups cannot be ruled out. The potential target could be public security forces, govt. high-up and political leadership. One TTP linked group JeM has already threatened to attack Karachi in coming days. Keeping in view the earlier and recent trends of the attacks there seems less direct threat to commercial sector however, political and religious gatherings could be targeted anywhere. However, high vigilance and security precautions are required while visiting offices of government and public security forces or areas of protests.

19. HSE Oct 12,2009 ( Swat) Health officials say 13 cases of polio have been confirmed in Pakistan's volatile Swat District over the past four months, mainly because vaccinators have been unable to access children there for over a year. Fierce fighting between government troops and Taliban militants, which began in May, has displaced hundreds of thous ands of people from Swat. According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and Afghanistan are among four countries in the world where polio is still considered endemic.

20. Flash Points Oct. 28: Lahore: Tanzeem-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat Pakistan to hold protest rally on Wednesday at around 02:00 p.m. (PST) from Data Darbar to Chief Minster House and to stage sit-in outside C.M house against govt. for not probing the matter of stolen pair of sacred shoes of Holy Prophet (PBUH) from Badshahi Mosque Lahore Nov. 01: Countrywide: Govt. to restore Pakistan Standard Time by reversing the clocks by one hour