Terrorists Plan to Use Burqa-Clad Women as Suicide Bombers: Pak Official

by Azhar Masood

June 23, 2009

ISLAMABAD, June 22- A well placed official of the Interior Ministry, on the condition of anonymity, told Arab News here Monday, “We have received confirmed intelligence reports that terrorists after suffering defeats after defeats in Malakand and South Waziristan have now planned to use Burqa-clad women as suicide bombers.”

The official said it will be bit difficult for security officers to detect such bombers but Federal and provincial governments were making adequate plans to prevent women in Burqa “making their way to important places”.

Meanwhile Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik told media that security forces have put a cordon around the chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah. Malik said reports are being received of that Fazlullah has been injured.

Pakistani soldiers on post overlooking the Swat valley (Pedro Ugarte / European Pressphoto Agency)

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had earlier said that the most of the TTP Swat leadership had been crushed.

He also said that silence is being maintained regarding Fazlullah but information about his fate will be gathered and made public.

Meanwhile, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday announced that ground and air forces killed 21 people in South Waziristan on Monday.

Security officials said Pakistani fighter jets targeted four villages in South Waziristan, where TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud’s militants are believed to be hiding.

“Eleven militants were killed and four others wounded when fighter jets pounded the compound of a local tribesman Malik Ameer in Kaniguram village, which was being used by militants,” a security official in the area said.

About the Author

Azhar Masood

Azhar Masood received his Masters in International Relations from the University of Karachi in 1971. During the 1980's, he reported on the Afghan war for Arab News and other news organizations. Throughout the 90's, he covered numerous conflicts and events relating to international affairs, including the war in Bosnia. He covered both the U.S. wars on Afghanistan and Iraq from within the countries and his services have been hired by the New York Times, Newsweek, and CNN, BBC, Fox News, and al-Jazeera, among others. He is currently based in Islamabad and is in charge of special tasks and assignments for PTV. More...