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Jirga men escape rocket attack

Staff Report

MIRANSHAH: Members of an all-tribes jirga trying to save the 2006 peace deal between tribal militants and the government escaped a rocket attack in North Waziristan on Saturday.

All jirga members were “safe” after a rocket hit a girls’ hostel the members have been staying at since Friday, a senior government official told Daily Times. “The rocket attack was aimed at jirga members,” the official added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the pro-Taliban tribal militants are “prime suspects,” the official said.

The jirga had dashed to North Waziristan on Friday after meeting NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai in Peshawar to hold talks with tribal elders and key Taliban commanders to win back their support for the peace deal. The local Taliban pulled out of the peace accord last Sunday citing “violations on the part of the government”.

Jirga members made no contact with the Taliban leadership till Friday evening, spokesman for the militants Abdul Hai Ghazi said on Friday.

“No jirga member met any Taliban commander till Friday evening. I am not sure that there will be any meeting on Saturday.” Suspected Taliban militants on Saturday detonated six tribal police check posts – three in North Waziristan and as many in the Frontier region of Bannu, officials said.

Reports from Bannu said that the tribal police, also known as Khasadars, abandoned the remaining check posts following threats from the militants.

“No tribal police check post is manned any longer in the Frontier region (a buffer zone between North Waziristan and Bannu district in NWFP),” the officials said.

At 5:00pm on Saturday, the militants attempted to cut off Miranshah from the rest of the country by trying to detonate a key bridge, the security sources said. “A big explosion to destroy Chashma Bridge has failed,” sources added.

Taliban commander Maulana Abdul Khaliq said his fighters would attack security forces to avenge the operation against Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad on July 12.

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