Terrorists wanted to take senior officers hostage in army raid

Oct 12, 2009, 12:48 GMT

   Islamabad - The insurgents who raided a Pakistani military headquarters on the weekend wanted to take the country's army leaders hostage and swap them for their more than 100 comrades in government custody, an army spokesman said Monday.

   'Their target was to take hostage senior officers of the GHQ [general headquarters] and place their demands,' Major General Athar Abbas told reporters at the army base in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.

   'The main demand was ... They gave a long list of all those who have been apprehended, the terrorists who are in our custody or the custody of the government,' Abbas said.

   Abbas said the militants' plan was foiled because of the 'great courage' of Pakistani soldiers.

   Ten militants, dressed as soldiers, attacked the army headquarters on Saturday. They were intercepted by guards but five of them sneaked into one of the compound's buildings, taking 33 army officials and nine civilian staff hostage.

   Commandos stormed the besieged building early on Sunday and rescued 39 hostages, but three were killed by militant fire, according to the military. Among the dead was a soldier.

   Eight soldiers and nine militants were killed during in he fighting. Three more commandos succumbed to their injuries at the local hospital on Sunday night.

   The terrorists' leader, Aqeel, was wounded and captured.

   Taliban have claimed responsibility of the first direct strike on the headquarters of Pakistan's Army, which is the world's sixth largest in terms of numbers.

   The army spokesman said the law enforcement agencies intercepted a conversation between Wali ur Rehman, a senior commander in the lawless tribal district of South Waziristan and one of his comrades.

   'It revealed that this attack was planned in the area of South Waziristan which is the main base of TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan),' added Abbas.

   'And in this conversation Wali ur Rehman is asking one of his subordinates to pray for the fidayeen [suicide] attack on GHQ.'

   The TTP, an umbrella organization for more than one dozen militant outfits, was founded by Rehman's relative Baitullah Mehsud who headed the group until his death in a US drone attack in early August.

   Islamabad is preparing to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in the district who carry out cross-border raids on Western forces in Afghanistan as well as they attack civilian and official targets inside Pakistan.

   Abbas said the 'principle decision' for South Waziristan had been made but it would be launched at 'some appropriate time.'