Bin Laden retaliation attacks kill 80 trainees

A PAIR of Taliban suicide bombers attacked paramilitary police recruits eagerly heading home for a break after months of training, killing 80 people in the first act of retaliation for the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

In claiming responsibility, the al-Qaida-linked militant group cited anger at Pakistan’s military for failing to stop the American incursion on their soil.

The blasts in the northwest were a reminder of the savagery of Islamist insurgents in Pakistan. Tensions have also risen between the US and Islamabad over allegations that some elements of the Pakistani security forces had been harbouring bin Laden, who died in a May 2 raid in Abbottabad, a garrison town about three hours’ drive from the scene of the bombing.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Ansanullah Ahsan, said: “We have done this to avenge the Abbottabad incident.”

He warned that the group was also planning attacks on Americans living inside Pakistan.

The bombers blew themselves up in Shabqadar at the main gate of the facility for the Frontier Constabulary, a poorly equipped but frontline force in the battle against al-Qaida and allied Islamist groups like the Pakistani Taliban close to the Afghan border.

Like other branches of Pakistan’s security forces, it has received US funding to try to sharpen its skills.

At least 80 people were killed in the blasts, including 66 recruits, and around 120 people were wounded.

Around 900 young men were leaving the centre after six months of training there. They were in high spirits and looking forward to seeing their families.

Some people were sitting inside public minivans and others were loading luggage atop the vehicles when the bombers struck, witnesses said. “We were heading toward a van when the first blast took place and we fell on the ground and then there was another blast,” said 21-year-old Rehmanullah Khan. “We enjoyed our time together, all the good and bad weather and I cannot forget the cries of my friends before they died.”

The scene was littered with shards of glass mixed with blood and flesh.

It was the first major militant attack in Pakistan since bin Laden’s death on May 2, and the deadliest this year.

Militants had pledged to avenge the killing and launch reprisal strikes in Pakistan.

The Taliban spokesman suggested the attack was aimed as punishment against Pakistani authorities for failing to stop the unilateral US raid that killed bin Laden, something that has sparked popular nationalist and Islamist anger.

“The Pakistani army has failed to protect its land,” Ahsan said.

In its communications, the Taliban often tries to tap into popular sentiments in the country, where anti-Americanism is often stronger than feelings against Islamist militants. This is despite militant attacks over the last four years claiming the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians.

The explosive vests used in yesterday’s attacks were packed with ball bearings and nails, police said.

Police official Nisar Khan said a suicide bomber in his late teens or early 20s set off one of the blasts.