PAKISTAN: Pakistan army helicopters kill around 80 suspected militants in a dawn attack on a Qaeda-linked school

Record ID: 339360

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Pakistan army helicopters kill around 80 suspected militants in a dawn attack on a Qaeda-linked school
  • Date: 30th October 2006
  • Summary: (BN11) CHENAGAI, PAKISTAN (OCTOBER 30,2006) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GATHERED AT SITE OF AIR STRIKE EXTERIOR OF DAMAGED BUILDING OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOL DAMAGED BOOKS PILED UP INSIDE RELIGIOUS SCHOOL INSIDE DAMAGED BUILDING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT SITE WITH RUBBLE CROWDS
  • Embargoed: 14th November 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVAB2RV1S59VHWP90HTD86MFWVEG
  • Story Text: Pakistani army helicopters killed around 80 suspected militants on Monday (October 30) in a dawn attack on a religious school run by a pro-Taliban commander wanted for harbouring al Qaeda fighters, a military spokesman said.
    The army said the religious school or madrasa in Chenagai, 10 km (six miles) north of Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan, was being used as a militant training camp.
    A mountainous region that is difficult to access, Bajaur lies opposite Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar, where U.S. troops are leading the hunt for al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
    The strike killed almost everyone present in the madrasa, although at least three wounded were taken to hospital in Khar.
    Major-General Shaukat Sultan told Reuters that the compound had been destroyed and local sources said up to 80 deaths have been confirmed.
    Residents said they had seen three or four army helicopters flying over Chenagai at around 5 a.m..
    No prominent militant was believed to be in the compound when it was attacked, Sultan said. Security officials said one of those killed was Maulana Liaqatullah, the pro-Taliban commander who ran the madrasa.
    Sultan said there were no women or children present.
    Bodies covered with white sheets lay in rows as Maulana Faqir Mohammad, a militant commander at the target site, addressed hundreds of gunmen gathered by the ruined madrasa, declaring his support for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar.
    "May Allah protect Sheikh Osama. May Allah protect Mullah Omar," the long-haired, bearded militant leader said.
    Some villagers said there were young children among those killed, but Mohammad told Reuters Television that the dead were aged between 15 and 25.
    Bodies covered with white sheets lay in rows as Mohammad addressed hundreds of gunmen gathered by the ruined madrasa, declaring his support for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar.
    "There was not a single person older than 25 among those killed, except for Maulana Liaqat (cleric). They were all 25, 20, 17, 18 years old, the youngest was 15. The only person older than 25 was Maulana Liaquat who was 30 or 32 years old," the militant leader told Reuters.
    Pakistan's lawless tribal belt along the Afghan border has been a haven for Islamist militants for decades. Many al Qaeda and Taliban guerrillas took refuge there after fleeing the U.S.-led hunt for them in Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001.
    Monday's attack came two days after 3,000 militants held a rally near Khar, chanting support for bin Laden and Omar.
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