Gunmen hold up to 15 hostages in Pakistan army HQ

[[R_H]]

Yahoo News

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – Heavily armed militants were holding up to 15 soldiers hostage inside Pakistan's army headquarters early Sunday after they stormed the complex in an audacious assault on the heart of the most powerful institution in the nuclear-armed country.

Ten people were killed in the attack, including two ranking officers.

The standoff was continuing 12 hours after assailants wearing military uniforms bundled from a white van and launched the strike, which appeared to be a warning to the military that its planned offensive on the insurgents' stronghold along the Afghan border would be met with attacks against targets across Pakistan.

The government said the assault on the headquarters, which followed a bloody market bombing and a suicide blast at a U.N. aid agency in the past week, had strengthened its resolve to push into South Waziristan — a mountainous region home to al-Qaida leaders where security forces have been beaten back by insurgents before.

The spasm of violence was confirmation that the militants had regrouped despite recent military operations against their forces and the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack in August. His replacement vowed just last week to step up attacks around the country and repel any push into Waziristan.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said "four or five" assailants were holding between 10 and 15 troops hostage in a building close to the main gates of the complex in Rawalpindi, a city near the capital, Islamabad. He said the building had no connection to any of the country's intelligence agencies. No senior military or intelligence officials were among those being held, he said.

He said special forces had surrounded the building. "They will decide how and when to act," he said, declining to comment on whether authorities had attempted to talk to the hostage takers.

Late Saturday, sporadic gunfire was heard coming from the complex.

In its brazenness and sophistication, the assault resembled attacks in March by teams of militants against the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in the eastern city of Lahore and a police training center, which the insurgents took over for 12 hours before security forces retook it.

It began shortly before noon when the gunmen, dressed in camouflage military uniforms and wielding assault rifles and grenades, drove in the van up to the army compound and opened fire, Abbas and a witness said.

"There was fierce firing, and then there was a blast," said Khan Bahadur, a shuttle van driver who was standing outside the gate of the compound. "Soldiers were running here and there," he said. "The firing continued for about a half-hour. There was smoke everywhere. Then there was a break, and then firing again."

After a 45-minute gunfight, four of the attackers were killed, said Abbas.

He initially told Geo news television channel the assault was over and the situation "under full control."

But more than an hour later, gunshots rang out from the headquarters compound, and Abbas then confirmed that other gunmen had eluded security forces and slipped into the compound. The city is filled with security checkpoints and police roadblocks.

"We are trying to finish it (the siege) at the earliest, clear the area of terrorists and restore complete control," Abbas said.

Abbas said six soldiers were killed, included a brigadier and a lieutenant colonel, and five wounded, one critically.

Pakistani media said the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

A police intelligence report in July obtained by the Associated Press on Saturday warned that members of the Taliban along with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant group based in the country's Punjab province, were planning to attack army headquarters after disguising themselves as soldiers. The report was given to the AP by an official in the home affairs ministry in Punjab's home department.

Officials said Saturday they had raided a house in the capital where the attackers were believed to have stayed. They found military uniforms and bomb-making equipment.

The United States has been pushing Pakistan to take strong action against insurgents using its soil as a base for attacks in Afghanistan. The army has previously been unwilling to go into Waziristan with significant force, but has likely been emboldened by its successes against the militants in the Swat Valley earlier this year and the killing of Baitullah Mehsud.

"I want to give a message to the Taliban that what we did with you in Swat, we will do the same to you there (in Waziristan), too," said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. "We are going to come heavy on you."

Militants regularly attack army bases across the country and bombed a checkpoint the outside army compound in Rawalpindi two years ago — one of several major bombings to hit the garrison city in recent years. But rarely have the Taliban mounted an armed assault in the city involving multiple fighters.

Saturday's gunbattle following a car bombing that killed 49 on Friday in the northwestern city of Peshawar and the bombing of a U.N. aid agency Monday that killed five in Islamabad. The man who attacked the U.N. was also wearing a security forces' uniform and was granted entry to the compound after asking to use the bathroom.

Islamist militants have been carrying out nearly weekly attacks in Pakistan, but the sheer scale of Friday's bombing in Peshawar — which killed nine children — pushed the government to declare it would take the fight to the lawless tribal belt along the border where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden may be hiding.

Any operation in Waziristan will be very difficult. Militants are believed to have 10,000 well-armed fighters there, and winter will arrive in one month's time and could bog down troops. The army must also ensure that insurgents do not regroup elsewhere in the northwest, including Swat.

[Zixinus]

Just finished reading the Beeb's article on this.

Pakistan militants take hostages

Insurgents who attacked Pakistan's military HQ near Islamabad have taken 10 to 15 security personnel hostage, the army says.

Military officials say the attackers are surrounded inside the compound in Rawalpindi, and efforts are being made to recover the hostages safely.

Sporadic gunfire has been heard from the compound, reports from the scene say.

Six soldiers and four militants were killed in the initial assault.

The military at first said the situation was under control, but later added that up to five militants were holding the hostages inside a building within the compound.


ANALYSIS
Aleem Maqbool
Aleem Maqbool
BBC News, Islamabad

The army's main headquarters lies within one of the most heavily secured areas in the country. To attack it in the middle of the day, and then take hostages, shows a new level of audacity on the part of the militants.

Just a few weeks ago, the government here said it was winning its fight against the militants, and that the Taliban was in disarray. The events of this week will have many questioning those claims.

Speculation that the army will soon launch a ground offensive against the Taliban in the tribal areas of South Waziristan has only left many Pakistanis bracing themselves for more violence in the cities.


Reports say senior officers were among the hostages and among those who died.

The attack comes as the Pakistani army prepares for a major operation against the Taliban.

"Eight to 10 terrorists were involved in this attack. Four of them have been killed while six of our security personnel were martyred," military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the private Geo TV station.

He said the building had been surrounded and officials were assessing the timing of a rescue operation.

"We are trying to move with the minimum loss of life," said Gen Abbas.

Another Pakistani official was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: "It's a hostage situation. They're demanding the release of some of their fellows."

Area sealed off

Officials said the gunmen drove up to the army compound in a white van just before midday local time (0600 GMT) on Saturday.

They took up positions, fired on the compound and threw hand grenades, security officials said.

Roads to the area were sealed off and helicopters hovered over the compound.


RECENT MILITANT ATTACKS
map
24 Sept - Seven pro-government tribal elders killed by militants in town of Janikhel, north-western Pakistan
26 Sept - At least 16 people killed in two suicide car bombs, in Peshawar and Bannu
5 Oct - Suicide bomber attacks UN offices in Islamabad killing five
9 Oct - At least 50 killed in suspected suicide bombing in Peshawar

In pictures: Pakistan shoot-out

Eyewitness Khan Bahadur, a van driver, said there had been "fierce fighting" followed by a blast.

"Soldiers were running here and there," he said. "There was smoke everywhere. Then there was a break, and then firing again."

The military reported that the attack had been repelled after a gun battle lasting around 45 minutes.

However, military officials later said that more militants were still at large and were now holding several hostages in the "security office building" inside the complex.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said officials wanted to catch the gunmen alive so they could "give us more information".

"The Taliban are hired assassins. They are the enemies of Islam and Pakistan. All their actions are against the sovereignty of Pakistan," he told CNN.

The attack follows a series of bombings in north-western Pakistan. On Friday at least 50 people died in a blast in Peshawar.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Islamabad, says the latest attack, on one of the most secure areas of the country in the middle of the day, shows a new level of audacity from the militants.

Islamist militants have carried out a number of attacks against high-profile, high-security targets in recent years.

In March this year gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. Six policemen and a driver were killed, and several of the team were injured.

In the same month, dozens of people were killed when a police training centre on the outskirts of the city was occupied by gunmen.

I am hardly an expert, but not only to attack what is supposed to be the most heavily defended area and still manage to take hostages doesn't tell me that the terrorists are audacious but that you either have very capable terrorists here or someone has a very weird definition of "security".

[Sidewinder]

I am hardly an expert, but not only to attack what is supposed to be the most heavily defended area and still manage to take hostages doesn't tell me that the terrorists are audacious but that you either have very capable terrorists here or someone has a very weird definition of "security".

It's more likely the terrorists are getting intel from sympathizers in Pakistan's military or military intelligence services, meaning Pakistan is now fighting an honest-to-God civil war. We can probably expect various officials to name themselves "President of Pakistan," denounce their rivals as pretenders, and begin purges, ethnic cleansing, strengthening their positions by pointing guns at potential recruits' heads...

Anyone want to guess when the place will become Somalia 2.0, with all the anarchy, piracy, and downright lunacy that implies?

[FedRebel]

Anyone want to guess when the place will become Somalia 2.0, with all the anarchy, piracy, and downright lunacy that implies?

Hopefully never, Pakistan has nukes

..which given this development raises concern on the level of security Pakistan has on their arsenal

[Guardsman Bass]

I am hardly an expert, but not only to attack what is supposed to be the most heavily defended area and still manage to take hostages doesn't tell me that the terrorists are audacious but that you either have very capable terrorists here or someone has a very weird definition of "security".

It's more likely the terrorists are getting intel from sympathizers in Pakistan's military or military intelligence services, meaning Pakistan is now fighting an honest-to-God civil war. We can probably expect various officials to name themselves "President of Pakistan," denounce their rivals as pretenders, and begin purges, ethnic cleansing, strengthening their positions by pointing guns at potential recruits' heads...

Keep in mind that the actual volume of attacks inside Punjab and Sindh are relatively few compared to the FATA and NWFP - and there hasn't really been any signs of various officials (particularly in the Army, which is usually responsible for most coups in Pakistan) deciding to pull the above. It's a major stretch to jump from "very high-profile and successful kidnapping" to "open civil war".

Anyone want to guess when the place will become Somalia 2.0, with all the anarchy, piracy, and downright lunacy that implies?

Considering that there's no real challenge to the central Pakistani government in the Punjab and Sindh (which constitute the overwhelming majority of the population of Pakistan as well as the base of its military and economic power), it's unlikely. North West Frontier Province is already like that, though, and the FATA has been like that for years.

[Ma Deuce]

Looks like it's over now:

http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSSP477910

Pakistan commandos rescue 39 hostages, three killed

* Thirty-nine hostages freed, three killed

* Military says ringleader captured

* U.S., UK confident of nuclear security

* Waziristan offensive imminent

(Adds interior minister)

By Augustine Anthony

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Pakistani commandos stormed an office building on Sunday and rescued 39 people taken hostage by suspected Taliban militants after a brazen attack on the army's headquarters.

Saturday's attack on the tightly guarded army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi, next door to the capital, Islamabad, came as the military prepared an offensive against the militants in their stronghold of South Waziristan on the Afghan border.

The strike at the heart of the powerful military called into question government assertions the militants were virtually crippled by recent setbacks. But officials said it only underlined the need to finish them off.

"It has been decided, the civilian leadership has decided ... the operation is imminent," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Reuters in an interview in Singapore.

Three hostages, two commandos and four of the gunmen were killed in the pre-dawn rescue operation, said army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas. One wounded gunman was captured and Abbas said he was the ringleader.

"Now there is no terrorist left there. The operation is over," Abbas told Reuters.

The United States condemned the latest attack and expressed confidence in the security of its ally's nuclear arsenal.

Pakistani Taliban militants linked to al Qaeda have launched numerous attacks over the past couple of years, most aimed at the government and security forces, including bomb attacks in Rawalpindi.

On Saturday, gunmen wearing army uniforms attacked the army headquarters, killing six soldiers including a brigadier and a lieutenant colonel in a gunbattle at a main gate.

Five gunmen were killed there and two of their wounded colleagues captured. But others fled and took hostages in a building housing security offices near the headquarters.

Commandos launched their assault under cover of darkness with a blast and gunfire erupting at 6 a.m. (midnight Saturday GMT).

"They were in a room with a terrorist who was wearing a suicide jacket but the commandos acted promptly and gunned him down before he could pull the trigger," Abbas said of one large group of hostages.

"Three of the hostages were killed due to militant firing," he said. More hostages were later found alive.

Interior Minister Malik said the raid, which bore the hallmarks of several similarly ruthless "swarm" attacks this year, was apparently carried out by Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda.

In March, gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team as it drove to a match in the city of Lahore and weeks later militants raided a police cadet college in the same city.

Those attacks were blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, widely believed to have been helped by militants from Punjab province.

Abbas identified the militant captured on Sunday as Aqeel, alias Dr Usman. A security official in Punjab said Usman was believed to be a member of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group.

"Militants we arrested in Lahore had told us during interrogation that he masterminded the attack on the Sri Lankan team and provided weapons," said the official.

Some hostage takers' phone calls were intercepted and they were speaking Punjabi, another security official said.



VIOLENT WEEK

The attack on the army came at the end of a violent week.

Last Monday, a suicide bomber attacked a U.N. office in Islamabad killing five staff members, and on Friday a suspected suicide bomber killed 49 people in Peshawar.

Malik said the planned offensive against the militants in South Waziristan was not a matter of choice, but a necessity.

"It is not an issue of commitment, it is becoming a compulsion because there was an appeal from the local tribes that we should do the operation."

Washington needs Pakistani help against militants crossing into Afghanistan to fight U.S.-led forces there and has been urging action against Afghan Taliban factions on the border.

In March, militants pushed to within 100 km (60 miles) of Islamabad, sparking grave concern among allies, including the United States, for Pakistan's prospects, and fears for the safety of its nuclear weapons.

In late April, the army launched an offensive in Swat, northwest of Islamabad, and largely cleared out the Taliban.

The militants suffered another big blow on Aug. 5, when their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a missile attack by a U.S. drone aircraft. His successor vowed revenge last week.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the Saturday attack and she and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed confidence in the security of Pakistani nuclear facilities.

Washington had every confidence in the government's control over its nuclear weapons, Clinton told a London news conference. (Reporting by Kamran Haider and Zeeshan Haider in ISLAMABAD, Keith Weir and Jeff Mason in LONDON; Saeed Azhar and Sanjeev Miglani in Singapore; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

[MKSheppard]

If Pakistan can't even keep random militants from storming and holding it's army HQ what does this say about it's special weapons security?

[Simon_Jester]

That is a fairly relevant concern, I think; the nuclear weapon bunkers may be more heavily secured than the Pakistani equivalent of the Pentagon for all I know, but I wouldn't bet a major metropolitan area on it without more information.

[Artemas]

I believe most army HQs are in pretty big base complexes, often with only a single unfortified checkpoint barring the way in. From the BBC pictures, it looked like the van stopped pretty much as soon at it entered the facility, i.e. its only 15 meters past the big symbolic swords lawn ornament.
If the HQ was in a larger complex, then gate security might not check vigerously. Lots of people are likely to enter or exit the base on routine, or personal trips. More likely, there are more heavily secured areas within the base, such as the HQ building itself, motorpool, et cetera.

EDIT: The article above mentioned that the gunbattle mostly happened around the main gate, with only a few escaping to some offices. This seems like the biggest problem they had was not gate security, but a porous cordon, allowing a few gunmen to escape.

[[R_H]]

Pakistan launches Taliban assault

Fierce fighting has broken out as Pakistan's army launched an air and ground offensive against Taliban militants in the South Waziristan area.

Officials said 30,000 troops, backed by artillery, had moved into the region where Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud is based.

Militants were reported to be offering stiff resistance as troops advanced from the north, east, and west.

A curfew was imposed in the region before the offensive began.

There have been several co-ordinated Taliban attacks in recent days, killing more than 150 people in cities across Pakistan.

Pakistan's top army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas confirmed that a fully-fledged assault had begun and said that an offensive could last up to two months.

"The objective is to clear this terrorist organisation from the area, who has taken over the area, turned these state institutions, organisations out and has taken the entire population hostage," he told the BBC.

He added that intense fighting was expected during the course of the operation.

Dozens of casualties have already been reported by local officials as both sides used heavy weapons.

The bodies of three Pakistan soldiers were taken to the northern town of Razmak. There have also been unconfirmed reports of militant deaths.

Nearly all communications in the region were down after the Taliban destroyed a telecommunications tower at Tiarza, local officials said. Reports from the area are sketchy as it is difficult and dangerous for foreign or Pakistani journalists to operate inside South Waziristan.

Aerial bombardments in the the Makeen area, a stronghold of the Mehsud tribe and a key army target, were also reported by local officials and witnesses.

One resident of Makeen town described the onset of fighting.

"We heard the sounds of planes and helicopters early Saturday. Then we heard blasts. We are also hearing gunshots and it seems the army is exchanging fire with Taliban," Ajmal Khan told the Associated Press news agency by telephone.The ground operation comes after weeks of air and artillery strikes against militant targets in the region, which lies close to the Afghan border.

Thousands of civilians have fled South Waziristan in anticipation of the offensive.

Aid agencies say that many more are expected to flee but the tough terrain and the Taliban's grip on the area will present difficulties.

Transport has been difficult as roads have been blocked by the military. There is a huge army presence on the road between Tank and Dera Ismail Khan, says the BBC's Islamabad correspondent Shoaib Hasan, near South Waziristan.

On his way to South Waziristan, he passed several army convoys on the road.

There has been no comment from the Pakistan military yet.

The mobilisation came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani held a meeting of the country's senior political and military leadership.

Lengthy planning

Recent militant attacks were seen as an attempt to divide public opinion, but they appear to have strengthened the resolve of the government, which says the Taliban must now be eliminated, our correspondent added. The army has been massing troops near the militants' stronghold for months - ever since the governor of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province announced a ground offensive in South Waziristan on 15 June.

Pakistan's government has been under considerable pressure from the US to tackle militancy there.

North and South Waziristan form a lethal militant belt from where insurgents have launched attacks across north-west Pakistan as well as into parts of eastern Afghanistan.

South Waziristan is considered to be the first significant sanctuary for Islamic militants outside Afghanistan since 9/11.

It also has numerous training camps for suicide bombers.

[CJvR]

Perhaps even the Pakistani army have become alarmed enough over it's fundamentalists to suspend it's India paranoia temporarily.

Still 30000 doesn't sound like a really serious effort.

[Ritterin Sophia]

If Pakistan can't even keep random militants from storming and holding it's army HQ what does this say about it's special weapons security?

IIRC under the Bush administration we volunteered some of our own Soldiers for added security after the Taliban started trying to take Pakistan.

[Serafina]

If Pakistan can't even keep random militants from storming and holding it's army HQ what does this say about it's special weapons security?

An army HQ is a place with a lot of people going in and out (i guess, correct me if i am wrong).
Nuclear silos aren't.

But yes, i agree with you - quite a troublesome situation.

[Master of Ossus]

Perhaps even the Pakistani army have become alarmed enough over it's fundamentalists to suspend it's India paranoia temporarily.

Still 30000 doesn't sound like a really serious effort.

There was a big change in attitude after the Taliban went back on their deal to stay in the Swat Valley. The 30,000 troops is just this one push into a single province, too, and keep in mind that the winter is rolling in, when campaigning is basically impossible. They're probably just trying to take some specific targets and then bunker down for the winter so they'll be in better position in Spring, if they decide to press the offensive.