Rocket attack on secret agency office in Swat

By Iqbal Khattak

PESHAWAR: Unidentified men fired rockets at the office of an intelligence agency in Swat and damaged the office building, but no one was hurt, police and intelligence sources told Daily Times on Saturday.

Sources said the regional office of the intelligence agency near Mingora was attacked late on Friday night. “The windows of the office were smashed in the attack,” they said. “Five rockets were fired at the agency’s office and the attackers fired with light machine-guns from close range,” sources in the police said. “The security agency’s guards returned fire. The rooms housing guards and other employees were hit with the rockets.”

“Reaction to the raids on suspected Al Qaeda militants and their local allies by security agencies earlier this month may be one reason for the attack,” intelligence sources said. “Militants opposing Pakistan’s policy on the US-led war on terrorism are suspected.”

A criminal case was lodged but local police sealed it, official sources told Daily Times in Peshawar. “No arrest has been made so far,” sources said. The region is regarded as a stronghold of Islamic militants. Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi mobilised thousands of volunteers from Swat and Dir to fight alongside Taliban forces against the US-backed Northern Alliance soon after the 9/11 attacks.

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