Bomb hits Pakistan Danish embassy

[[R_H]]

BBC

At least six people have been killed and 30 injured in a car bomb attack near the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

An embassy worker was among the dead and three were hurt but no Danish citizens were killed or injured.

Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the act "cowardly" and said it would not change Danish policies.

It was not clear who carried out the attack, as Pakistan's main militant group recently declared a ceasefire.

Pakistan's top Taleban warlord Baitullah Mehsud is in peace talks with the authorities in an attempt to end fighting in the country's north-west.

Other militant factions - accused of being involved in similar attacks in the past - have also recently engaged in talks with the government and the number of bombings in the country has reduced since the induction of a new government in March.

Some Danish embassies around the world have been threatened since a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad was reprinted in Danish newspapers in February.

The cartoons, deemed offensive to Islam, led to worldwide protests when they were first printed in September 2005.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says suspicion for the attack has fallen on al-Qaeda, as the network's number two Ayman al-Zawahri denounced the cartoons in a recent video.

Denmark also has 700 troops fighting the Taleban in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Mr Rasmussen said the bombing was an "attack against Denmark".

He added: "Denmark will not alter its [foreign] policy because of a terror attack."

Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said: "The president, the prime minister, as well as the foreign minister, have all very strongly condemned this terrorist attack... and our hearts go out to the families of the victims."

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Pakistan says that while the embassy attack may have an obvious motive - the cartoons - the Danish embassy was an easy target because it is located in a residential area outside of the high-security diplomatic enclave.

Our correspondent says that the attack has added to the sense of insecurity among Islamabad residents, who were not exposed to militant attacks until last year, when a violent siege of the city's red mosque took place.

The last attack in the city took place on 15 March when an Italian restaurant was targeted, killing a Turkish woman and injuring 10 other foreigners.

There are a number of militant groups with bases in the Pakistan mainland who are linked to insurgencies in Afghanistan and in Indian-administered-Kashmir - our correspondent says - and many have a history of carrying out sectarian attacks directed at Western missions and diplomats.

'Immense pressure'

Most foreign staff have been moved out of the Danish embassy since the cartoon row erupted.

Security has now been further tightened at all government and other key buildings in the city.

Denmark advised its citizens against all travel to Pakistan, and Norway closed its embassy following the blast.

Our correspondent says it is alarming for many that the bomber got so close to the Danish embassy.

The attacker drove onto a small patch of road between the embassy and an office building at around midday local time (0600 GMT).

The car's engine was found a few metres from the crater.

A Pakistani cleaner was killed, a handyman seriously injured and two office workers also hurt, Mr Moeller said. All the other casualties are thought to be outside the embassy.

Part of the embassy wall was damaged, as was a building housing offices of a UN-funded non-governmental organisation.

Asim Mukhtar, who works near the site of the blast, told the BBC that the air pressure there was "immense".

"It was like I was stuck between two speeding cars or between two moving trains. My door which was half-open slammed shut. Everything moved," he said.

"We ran to the roof and saw some black smoke rising. After one minute we heard the sounds of ambulances."

[Kanastrous]

Didn't hurt a single Danish Christian, just killed and injured a bunch of Pakistani Muslims.

Delicious.

[CJvR]

The casualties are up to eight. Two Pakistani employees, one Danish citizen of Pakistani origin and several local security men according to the latest news.

[Molyneux]

Didn't hurt a single Danish Christian, just killed and injured a bunch of Pakistani Muslims.

Delicious.

You idiot, the fact that someone is either Pakistani or Muslim does not make them complicit in the fucking bombing! Where do you get off taking satisfaction from the fact that innocent people have been murdered?

[Kanastrous]

Didn't hurt a single Danish Christian, just killed and injured a bunch of Pakistani Muslims.

Delicious.

You idiot, the fact that someone is either Pakistani or Muslim does not make them complicit in the fucking bombing! Where do you get off taking satisfaction from the fact that innocent people have been murdered?

I think that if the bomber had succeeded in killing only Danes - and a large number of them - there would have been a greater degree of approval among Muslims, than if the victims were Muslims, which is what happened.

I notice that a frequent objection to AQ/et all's tactics, on public-opinion polls taken in Muslim nations, is the number of Muslims they manage to kill while gunning for kaffirs. So more Muslim casualties - if there have to be casualties, at all - impresses me as a net benefit, feeding dissatisfaction in the Muslim world with these tactics.

Since it does not appear that non-Muslim casualties - if there have to be casualties - has an equivalent effect.

Plus, there's the...not irony, but something grimly amusing - about violence committed for the greater glory of Islam and Muslims, that in the end victimizes only Muslims.

If I have a choice of laughing or crying, I'd rather laugh.

YMMV.

[Guardsman Bass]

Didn't hurt a single Danish Christian, just killed and injured a bunch of Pakistani Muslims.

Delicious.

You idiot, the fact that someone is either Pakistani or Muslim does not make them complicit in the fucking bombing! Where do you get off taking satisfaction from the fact that innocent people have been murdered?

It's not pleasure in the fact that Pakistani muslims were killed - it's amusement at the irony.

[ArmorPierce]

Didn't hurt a single Danish Christian, just killed and injured a bunch of Pakistani Muslims.

Delicious.

You idiot, the fact that someone is either Pakistani or Muslim does not make them complicit in the fucking bombing! Where do you get off taking satisfaction from the fact that innocent people have been murdered?

It's not pleasure in the fact that Pakistani muslims were killed - it's amusement at the irony.

Didn't look like it to me. Looked like he was savoring in the fact that only them dirty muslims were killed by their brothers rather than any christians.

[Kanastrous]

Didn't look like it to me. Looked like he was savoring in the fact that only them dirty muslims were killed by their brothers rather than any christians.

No, but I'm probably wasting my time, telling you so.

[Phantasee]

I don't think Kanastrous was pleased about people dying in general, only that the victims were the ones these bombers claim to help. They're a bunch of retards, apparently, when they can't even kill their intended targets, but take out a bunch of their "own" people as collateral.

Also: Thread title needs to be made clearer, it's not clear if it's the Pakistani Embassy in Denmark was bombed or the Danish Embassy in Pakistan. Perhaps "Bomb hits Danish embassy in Pakistan."

[Sidewinder]

Islamists keep forgetting that the majority of the "Christian" nations have something called "Freedom of press," which means there's a limit to what their governments can do to prevent something like the publishing of those "offensive" cartoons. If they keep this up, they risk resurrecting the crusading spirit of Medieval times, i.e., of "Christian soldiers" doing their damn best to kill every single Muslim on earth. That will be a VERY BAD THING for both sides, but the Islamists don't seem to realize it'll be MUCH WORSE for the Muslims.

(Here's a hint: the Saudis bought a lot of high-tech weapons from the US, the UK, and France, including helicopter gunships and fighter jets, but they consider performing maintenance on those weapons to be beneath them, and hire trained and experienced maintenance crews from the US, the UK, and France. That means if the Islamists take over Saudi Arabia and start the War To End All Wars they keep wanting to start, those maintenance crews will be gone, and the weapons they're maintaining will quickly become oversized paperweights.)

[Alyrium Denryle]

You idiot, the fact that someone is either Pakistani or Muslim does not make them complicit in the fucking bombing! Where do you get off taking satisfaction from the fact that innocent people have been murdered?

It's not pleasure in the fact that Pakistani muslims were killed - it's amusement at the irony.

Didn't look like it to me. Looked like he was savoring in the fact that only them dirty muslims were killed by their brothers rather than any christians.

I dont know many people to use the word delicious save when referring to tasty tasty irony... or meatloaf...

[Kanastrous]

(Here's a hint: the Saudis bought a lot of high-tech weapons from the US, the UK, and France, including helicopter gunships and fighter jets, but they consider performing maintenance on those weapons to be beneath them, and hire trained and experienced maintenance crews from the US, the UK, and France. That means if the Islamists take over Saudi Arabia and start the War To End All Wars they keep wanting to start, those maintenance crews will be gone, and the weapons they're maintaining will quickly become oversized paperweights.)

That may be more a Saudi thing, than a Muslim thing.

The Imperial Iranian Air Force was mostly equipped with American hardware, and although the organization suffered from purges and defections after the Islamic Revolution they managed to maintain their inventory and operate it offensively against Iraq.

Of course their equipment is obsolescent now, but being Muslims - even being a revolutionary Islamic Republic - didn't prevent them from keeping their air force operating without foreign assistance.

[Lonestar]

(Here's a hint: the Saudis bought a lot of high-tech weapons from the US, the UK, and France, including helicopter gunships and fighter jets, but they consider performing maintenance on those weapons to be beneath them, and hire trained and experienced maintenance crews from the US, the UK, and France. That means if the Islamists take over Saudi Arabia and start the War To End All Wars they keep wanting to start, those maintenance crews will be gone, and the weapons they're maintaining will quickly become oversized paperweights.)

Actually, the Pakistani army "rents out" entire brigades of maintenance folks to them. It's more an Arab thing than a Muslim thing.

[Adrian Laguna]

Of course their equipment is obsolescent now, but being Muslims - even being a revolutionary Islamic Republic - didn't prevent them from keeping their air force operating without foreign assistance.

Iran also makes its own tanks, which seem to be pretty good considering they are third-world knock-offs of Soviet hardware.

[Kanastrous]

Of course their equipment is obsolescent now, but being Muslims - even being a revolutionary Islamic Republic - didn't prevent them from keeping their air force operating without foreign assistance.

Iran also makes its own tanks, which seem to be pretty good considering they are third-world knock-offs of Soviet hardware.

The Iranian state aerospace bureaus have reverse-engineered Cobra helicopters and adapted F-4s with TISEO targeting optics and Standard missiles and produced a (kind of primitive-looking) indigenous jet trainer (the Tazarve).

Iran seems to produce good engineers.

[Kanastrous]

ghetto edit - I think that the Iranians produce the airframes and probably buy at least some of the avionics and engines abroad...

[Rogue 9]

Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility.

Al-Qaida claims it attacked Denmark Embassy
Group says blast that killed 6 in Pakistan was over Muhammad cartoons

updated 10:29 p.m. CT, Wed., June. 4, 2008

CAIRO, Egypt - A Web posting late Wednesday purportedly by al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the suicide attack against Denmark's Embassy in Pakistan that left six people dead.

The statement said Monday's bombing in Islamabad was carried out to fulfill the promise of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden to exact revenge over the reprinting in Danish papers of a cartoon of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

The statement, carried on a Web site frequently used by the Islamic militants, said the attack "fulfilled the promise of Sheik Osama Bin Laden, may God protect him, of responding" to the "insulting drawings."

It added that the attack came in defense of the religion and honor of Muslims and warned that if Denmark doesn't apologize for the cartoons, more attacks will follow.

The statement was signed by an al-Qaida commander in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abul-Yazid, and dated Tuesday, but its authenticity couldn't immediately be verified.

It said the attack was carried out by an al-Qaida martyr and thanked Pakistani jihadists who helped prepare and execute the plot.

Many suicide bombings in Pakistan are believed to have been planned in its semiautonomous tribal regions along the Afghan border, where al-Qaida and Taliban militants have found sanctuary and which are the focus of peace efforts.

Denmark officials said earlier that they suspected al-Qaida was behind the bombing.

[Sidewinder]

It added that the attack came in defense of the religion and honor of Muslims and warned that if Denmark doesn't apologize for the cartoons, more attacks will follow.

Either al-Qaida is stunningly ignorant of the governmental systems of the West (like free press), or they're just looking for any fucking excuse to kill non-Muslims (though there's a sick joke in the fact that the victims of the bombing were all Muslims), or both.

Governments apologize for the actions of their members and agents, e.g., President Reagan apologizing for the US government's internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. They do NOT apologize for the actions of their civilians, e.g., President George W. Bush apologizing for Sylvester Stallone's decision make Burmese soldiers the villains in 'Rambo', and to my knowledge, the cartoons were printed by privately owned media, NOT government controlled media.

[[R_H]]

Pakistan to ask EU to amend laws on freedom of expression

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will ask the European Union countries to amend laws regarding freedom of expression in order to prevent offensive incidents such as the printing of blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad and the production of an anti-Islam film by a Dutch legislator, sources in the Interior Ministry told Daily Times on Saturday.

They said that a six-member high-level delegation comprising officials from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Law would leave Islamabad on Sunday (today) for the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium and explain to the EU leadership the backlash against the blasphemous campaign in the name of freedom of expression.

The delegation, headed by an additional secretary of the Interior Ministry, will meet the leaders of the EU countries in a bid to convince them that the recent attack on the Danish Embassy in Pakistan could be a reaction against the blasphemous campaign, sources said.

They said that the delegation would also tell the EU that if such acts against Islam are not controlled, more attacks on the EU diplomatic missions abroad could not be ruled out.

Sources said that the delegation would also hold discussions on inter-religious harmony during its meetings with the EU leaders.

[TheMuffinKing]

Fuck Pakistan. Make parody and challenge of beliefs mandatory.

[hongi]

I second that. Fuck Pakistan.

They said that the delegation would also tell the EU that if such acts against Islam are not controlled, more attacks on the EU diplomatic missions abroad could not be ruled out.

Maybe if your security services did their freaking job, attacks could be ruled out.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I second that. Fuck Pakistan.

They said that the delegation would also tell the EU that if such acts against Islam are not controlled, more attacks on the EU diplomatic missions abroad could not be ruled out.

Maybe if your security services did their freaking job, attacks could be ruled out.

I think the security forces are doing the job of helping the militants.

[Sarevok]

I second that. Fuck Pakistan.

They said that the delegation would also tell the EU that if such acts against Islam are not controlled, more attacks on the EU diplomatic missions abroad could not be ruled out.

Maybe if your security services did their freaking job, attacks could be ruled out.

Eh Pakistani paramilitaries and police lost lots of people fighting the islamic fundermentalists. What more do you want them to do ? It is not like the pakistani public like most publics in other countries is rational to begin with. You will never be able to convince them that asking Danish apology over this is not going to work.

[Siege]

It is not like the pakistani public like most publics in other countries is rational to begin with. You will never be able to convince them that asking Danish apology over this is not going to work.

I suspect the Pakistani government realizes this, and sends the envoys anyway so that come the next 'crisis' they can point and say "see, we asked them politely, warned 'em even, they didn't listen, now please don't shoot at us, will ya?"

A bizarre form of plausible deniability, so to speak. Anyway, there's been inane requests like this from Iran before, and probably a few other similarly-minded nations too, so this bizarre behavior is nothing new, really. You'd expect people so convinced of the existence of an almighty God to be less anal-retentive about blasphemy, considering such an almighty God would be able to fend for himself and all. Then again, that might be expecting too much common sense from loopy fanatics.

[Sidewinder]

They said that the delegation would also tell the EU that if such acts against Islam are not controlled, more attacks on the EU diplomatic missions abroad could not be ruled out.

Even if the EU passes a law that forbids European media from "insulting Islam," I suspect bin Laden & Co. will find some other excuse to continue carrying out attacks against non-Muslims (and killing lots of Muslims in the process). Those douchebags love death and destruction so much, I suspect their leaders are necrophiliacs.