Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
January 29, 2008
Pg. 15
By Imtiaz Ali, Special to The Washington Post
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan. 28 -- A group of heavily armed men took more than 200 children hostage at a school in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, but released them and their teachers under a deal negotiated by tribal elders, according to authorities and residents.
No one was hurt during the standoff, and under the terms of the deal, the gunmen were permitted to flee.
The standoff began Monday morning in Bannu district, near North Waziristan, when seven gunmen stormed a school, according to witnesses. Sher Khan, head teacher of the school, said the gunmen took control of classrooms filled with children ages 6 to 12.
"It was a pretty normal morning when a group of seven men brandishing Kalashnikovs entered our school at about 9:50 a.m. and asked all of us to put our hands up," Khan said. "Children started crying, but they didn't listen and took all of us hostage."
Local police said the gunmen were members of a criminal gang who had kidnapped a government employee earlier, then fled into the school when pursued by police.
The gunmen used "the children as human shields," said one police official in Bannu. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.
Many residents in Bannu, about 90 miles south of Peshawar, said they suspected the involvement of pro-Taliban extremists.
The Taliban has increasingly taken hostages in the region to pressure the Pakistani government to end military operations in tribal areas along the country's border with Afghanistan.
The Taliban and its sympathizers have tried to impose their strict interpretation of Islamic law on villages, while their fighters have targeted government installations.
"It's hard to differentiate between the Taliban and criminals, because both have been mixed up with each other," said Arsahd Hussain, a resident of Bannu. "Many of the Taliban look like criminals, and similarly, many of the criminals have also joined the rank and file of the Taliban."
Shakoor Ahmad, whose son attends the school in Bannu, said he was at work when he heard about the gunmen. He rushed to the school.
"I'm extremely happy to have my son safe and sound," Ahmad said, "but I think the law and order has become a joke in our area. Nobody is safe here."
Islamic radicals have recently spilled over into Bannu from North and South Waziristan, according to residents. They said Taliban members have threatened girls who do not wear burqas and ordered music stores to close down.
Fighting between the radicals and security forces has intensified in the region over the past few days.
In Darra Adamkhel, a hub for gun manufacturing and criminal enterprises 20 miles from Peshawar, radicals on Friday captured four military trucks and seized control of a tunnel used by the army to supply troops and ammunition to the tribal areas.
After an intensive operation, Pakistani forces regained control of the tunnel Sunday night.
Meanwhile, clashes continued in Swat Valley between government forces and fighters loyal to radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah. Pakistani officials have said they have taken the area back from extremists, but few people in the region think the fighters have been driven out completely.
January 29, 2008
Pg. 15
By Imtiaz Ali, Special to The Washington Post
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan. 28 -- A group of heavily armed men took more than 200 children hostage at a school in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, but released them and their teachers under a deal negotiated by tribal elders, according to authorities and residents.
No one was hurt during the standoff, and under the terms of the deal, the gunmen were permitted to flee.
The standoff began Monday morning in Bannu district, near North Waziristan, when seven gunmen stormed a school, according to witnesses. Sher Khan, head teacher of the school, said the gunmen took control of classrooms filled with children ages 6 to 12.
"It was a pretty normal morning when a group of seven men brandishing Kalashnikovs entered our school at about 9:50 a.m. and asked all of us to put our hands up," Khan said. "Children started crying, but they didn't listen and took all of us hostage."
Local police said the gunmen were members of a criminal gang who had kidnapped a government employee earlier, then fled into the school when pursued by police.
The gunmen used "the children as human shields," said one police official in Bannu. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.
Many residents in Bannu, about 90 miles south of Peshawar, said they suspected the involvement of pro-Taliban extremists.
The Taliban has increasingly taken hostages in the region to pressure the Pakistani government to end military operations in tribal areas along the country's border with Afghanistan.
The Taliban and its sympathizers have tried to impose their strict interpretation of Islamic law on villages, while their fighters have targeted government installations.
"It's hard to differentiate between the Taliban and criminals, because both have been mixed up with each other," said Arsahd Hussain, a resident of Bannu. "Many of the Taliban look like criminals, and similarly, many of the criminals have also joined the rank and file of the Taliban."
Shakoor Ahmad, whose son attends the school in Bannu, said he was at work when he heard about the gunmen. He rushed to the school.
"I'm extremely happy to have my son safe and sound," Ahmad said, "but I think the law and order has become a joke in our area. Nobody is safe here."
Islamic radicals have recently spilled over into Bannu from North and South Waziristan, according to residents. They said Taliban members have threatened girls who do not wear burqas and ordered music stores to close down.
Fighting between the radicals and security forces has intensified in the region over the past few days.
In Darra Adamkhel, a hub for gun manufacturing and criminal enterprises 20 miles from Peshawar, radicals on Friday captured four military trucks and seized control of a tunnel used by the army to supply troops and ammunition to the tribal areas.
After an intensive operation, Pakistani forces regained control of the tunnel Sunday night.
Meanwhile, clashes continued in Swat Valley between government forces and fighters loyal to radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah. Pakistani officials have said they have taken the area back from extremists, but few people in the region think the fighters have been driven out completely.