4 Dec 2009
Suicide attackers have swarmed through a Pakistani mosque frequented by senior army officers, shooting randomly, killing worshippers at close range and exploding bombs in a frenzied attack that killed at least 40 people.
The bloody assault jolted even violence-weary Pakistanis because it occurred during Friday prayers in Rawalpindi, the country’s most heavily guarded city. The army confirmed two serving generals and four other officers were among the dead.
At least four gunmen stormed into the mosque on Parade Lane, a five-minute drive from army headquarters, firing guns and throwing grenades at a crowd of at least 150 men, women and children.
The crowd scattered for cover but the militants singled out some for murder in cold blood, according to witnesses. “They took the people, got hold of their hair and shot them,” a retired officer who survived the attack told a local television station.
Two of the attackers blew themselves up inside the mosque, destroying part of the building, while another two kept firing outside. They died in an hour-long exchange of fire with soldiers and police who surrounded the building.
“Their objective was to kill and be killed,” said the retired officer. “From the terrorists’ point of view it’s a very successful raid. One could not imagine they would enter such a high-profile target.”
Afterwards soldiers combed the area around the mosque, which is surrounded by army housing, and sealed it off from the media. Survivors said the mosque was covered in blood.
“It was terrible. We were helpless and hopeless,” one man who cowered in a corner for 20 minutes told reporters.
City officials said at least 40 people were killed and more than 80 injured. Interior minister Rehman Malik said 10 children were among the dead.
“I believe they are not just the enemy of Islam but also of the country. They want to finish the upcoming generation,” he said.
The attack followed a brief lull in a wave of attacks that started two months ago, on the eve of an army drive into the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan.
More than 400 Pakistanis have died since early October in attacks on UN offices, security installations and crowded bazaars. The capital, Islamabad, increasingly resembles cities such as Kabul, with rising sandbagged walls, checkpoint-clogged streets and shopping areas bereft of foreigners and, increasingly, Pakistanis.
Nearby Rawalpindi has suffered even more attacks, including a 22-hour siege of the army headquarters in early October that left 23 people dead and badly embarrassed the military.
The South Waziristan operation has gone better than many expected – the army now controls most of the main routes through the mountainous area while incurring fewer casualties than feared.
But the Taliban leadership, headed by Hakimulluah Mehsud, remains at large, and this latest attack demonstrates it is capable of inflicting painful blows at the heart of Pakistan’s security complex.
The violence also feeds anti-Americanism. After the bombing some Rawalpindi residents blamed the US presence in Afghanistan for fuelling militancy.
The strain is showing among army personnel, who have never suffered such targeted violence inside Pakistan. In a live television interview Brigadier Shaukat Qadir described the militants as “beasts in human clothing”.
“Everyone is agreed to we have to get rid of these damn bastards,” he said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/04/militants-attack-rawalpindi-mosque-pakistan
Editor