SUICIDE CAR BOMBING KILLS 41 IN PAKISTAN

Panorama.am
18:48 12/10/2009

A suicide car bombing targeting Pakistani troops killed 41 people
Monday, the fourth grisly militant attack in just over a week, as
the Taliban pledged to mobilize fighters across the country for more
strikes, foreign media reported.

The Taliban also claimed responsibility for the 22-hour weekend attack
on the nation’s heavily fortified army headquarters, saying a cell
from Pakistan’s most populous province carried out the raid.

The claim that a Punjabi faction of the Pakistani Taliban was behind
that strike is a sign the insurgents have forged links with militants
outside their main strongholds in Pashtun areas close to the Afghan
border, increasing their potency.

The army, however, maintained it was launched from South Waziristan
– where the military is preparing for what will likely be a long
and bloody offensive against the major base of the Taliban along
the frontier.