U.S. Consulate in Pakistan Is Attacked by Militants

U.S. Consulate in Pakistan Is Attacked by Militants
By ISMAIL KHAN and SABRINA TAVERNISE
Copyright by the New York Times
Published: April 5, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/world/asia/06pstan.html?hp


PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Militants mounted an assault against the United States Consulate in this northern Pakistani city on Monday, using a powerful bomb and rocket launchers in a multipronged attack, said a senior Pakistani intelligence officer.

Six people were killed outside the consulate and at least 20 were wounded, according to a senior government official. None of those killed were Americans.

The United States Embassy in Islamabad said that at least two Pakistani security guards employed by the consulate were killed in the attack, and that a number of others were seriously wounded. The embassy confirmed that the attack was coordinated, and said it involved “a vehicle suicide bomb and terrorists who were attempting to enter building using grenades and weapons fire.”

Employees of the consulate were evacuated after the attack, according to the Pakistani official. Pakistani television reported that the consulate would be closed on Tuesday, but a United States Embassy spokeswoman could not immediately confirm that.

Militants managed to damage barracks that formed part of the outer layer of security for the heavily fortified consulate area, but did not penetrate inside, the Pakistani intelligence officer said.

Pakistani television networks showed a giant cloud of dust and debris rising from the Saddar area, where the consulate is located, shortly after 1 p.m. Local media reported that there had been three blasts. Authorities cordoned off the area and gunfire was heard long after the explosions.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and warned that “we plan more such attacks,” Reuters reported.

The assault was a chilling reminder of just how close the militants are still able get to their targets in Pakistan, where months of operations by the Pakistani military in Taliban-controlled northern areas have dramatically reduced violence.

On March 31, a militant who identified himself as Qari Hussein, the head of suicide bomber training for the Taliban, spoke to a Pakistani reporter for Dawn, an English-language daily, saying that the Taliban would soon begin attacks on important and sensitive targets in order “to refresh memories of the attack on the Khost base.” That attack, on an American military base in Afghanistan, killed eight Americans, seven of them Central Intelligence Agency officers.

A short time before the blasts in Peshawar, a bomb exploded at a ceremony in Dir Province, killing more than 40 people, according to the provincial information minister, Iftikhar Hussein, and media reports.

The strike, which came after several months of calm, was an attempt on the part of the militants to show they still have power, said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a defense analyst. It was also a message to the United States, which has been conducting operations against Taliban militants in neighboring Afghanistan, that the Taliban can assault American interests in other places.

“They were lying low for the last three months, but they are trying to demonstrate that they are still alive and kicking,” Mr. Rizvi said. He added that Peshawar, which had been tormented by almost daily bomb strikes last fall, remains the easiest target for militants to strike.

“It is very easily accessible,” he said. “From tribal area you can walk right into Peshawar.”

The senior Pakistani intelligence officer said that the consulate attack had been well-coordinated. It involved several militants, all with suicide vests and some firing rocket launchers, as well as a large bomb.

Media reports quoted witnesses as saying the attackers were wearing uniforms of the Pakistani security services but officials did not immediately verify this.

The ceremony in Dir was to celebrate the renaming of North-West Frontier Province, and was held by a Pashtun political party, the Awami National Party. Fifty people were injured.

“They want to give us a message not to hold activities like this,” Mr. Hussein said.

The bombing took place in the same area where several American military personnel were killed earlier this year, in a bomb attack at the opening of a girls’ school.

Ismail Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan, and Sabrina Tavernise from Islamabad. Pir Zubair Shah contributed reporting from Islamabad.