The Pakistani Taliban have confirmed that their leader has been killed as the result of a U.S. drone strike.
Hakimullah Mehsud, who masterminded the Taliban attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan and multiple missions that lead to the deaths of thousands of Pakistani civilians, died Saturday when he was targeted by a U.S. drone. Mehsud was also believed to be the plotter of the failed Times Square bombing in 2010.
The U.S. had a $5 million bounty on Mehsud’s head.
Pakistan’s government expressed outrage over the U.S. strike saying they were working on peace talks with the Taliban at the time of the strike. Government officials summoned the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan to government offices for protests. Pakistan’s interior minister said the death of Mehsud was “the death of all peace efforts” although he said they would not be breaking off relations with the U.S. because of the attack.
The Taliban has been meeting to decide on a new leader.
This is not the first time that Mehsud was reported to be killed in a drone strike, however, this is the first time the Taliban acknowledged that he had been killed.
In the latest report of violence against Christians in Pakistan, three Muslim men have been arrested in connection with a home invasion and “forced conversion to Islam”.
Three men in their 30s reportedly entered the home of a large Christian family and forced them all at gunpoint to convert to Islam after spending the evening conducting various tortures. The family is related to a Christian man who was attacked and stabbed to death in a gold market after being accused of blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed.
The family had been living in fear since the murder of Boota Masih. They had been refusing to go to work because of concerns Islamic extremists would target them for false claims of blasphemy.
Local police officials reportedly consider one of the three arrested men an Islamic extremist.
The Taliban released a statement last month saying all non-Muslims in Pakistan are their targets.
A commander of militia in northwest Pakistan fighting the Taliban was injured in a homicide bomb attack that killed 15 people.
The Taliban admitted being behind the attack on the compound of Nabi Hanafi. Officials said there were wounded but were unable to agree on the number. At least one woman and child were among the wounded.
Witnesses told the BBC that gunmen fired on the compound after driving an explosives-laden vehicle through the compound gate.
Hanafi at one time was closely associated with the Taliban until 2008 when he formed his own militia and began to fight against the Islamic extremist group. The Pakistani government has been reported to have helped Hanafi’s group in fighting the terrorists.
The compound was hit with a homicide bomber attack last year that killed 18.
A second major earthquake has shaken the Awaran district of Pakistan killing at least 15 people.
The 6.8 magnitude quake comes on the heels of a 7.8 quake that killed at least 400 people. Officials say the second quake has caused more damaged to the communications and infrastructure of the region because repairs were unable to be made before the second strike. Continue reading →
Tuesday’s massive 7.8 earthquake in Pakistan has resulted in the very rare development of a new island.
According to officials near the Gwadar coast the island is close to 40 feet high and around 100 feet wide. The island emerged from the ocean about 350 feet off the Gwadar coast. Continue reading →
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake has ripped through Balochistan, the largest province in Pakistan, killing at least 30 people.
The quake struck Tuesday at 4:29 p.m. local time, around 40 miles north-east of the city of Awaran. The region is remote with smaller populations than neighboring provinces. Continue reading →
Protesters carrying signs reading “Stop Killing Christians In Pakistan” took to the streets throughout the country claiming the government is not doing anything to stop Islamists from murdering Christians.
The double homicide bombing on Sunday has now reportedly lead to 85 deaths with the number likely to climb with many victims still in critical condition. Continue reading →
At least 78 Christians are dead after Muslim homicide bombers walked to a church on Sunday and detonated bomb vests.
The worshipers had just left All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan after morning service and were starting to line up in the church yard to receive free food. Continue reading →
The Pakistan government could release Senior Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in an attempt to help the Afghanistan peace process.
Baradar was arrested in Karachi in 2010 after a mission called a major win for the American CIA and Pakistani Intelligence Service. Continue reading →
A raid in southwest Pakistan has turned up over 100 tons of bomb making materials believed to be connected to a terrorist organization.
The materials were the same as those used in two terrorist attacks in Quetta earlier this year that killed more than 120 people. Continue reading →
