Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Militants armed with guns and grenades attacked a mosque during midday prayers in Rawalpindi on Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding 83, authorities said.
Several explosions followed by gunfire were heard inside the mosque around 1:30 p.m. local time, according to Gen. Athar Abbas, a Pakistani military spokesman. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosions or who fired the gunshots.
The militants entered the compound by climbing over a wall, said Aslam Tareen, Rawalpindi police chief. Several children and elderly worshipers are among the dead.
The mosque -- frequented by retired and serving military officials -- is in a residential area near national army headquarters. A witness told GEO TV that there were up to 300 worshipers at the mosque at the time of the attack.
This is the first attack in Rawalpindi since a suicide bomber targeted a bank on November 2.
On October 10, militants stormed army headquarters in Rawalpindi, taking several people hostage before security forces killed them.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Pakistan PM: UBL Not Here.
London, England (CNN) -- Pakistan's prime minister Thursday rejected claims al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding within his country amid mounting global pressure on Islamabad to tackle terrorists linked to escalating conflict in neighboring Afghanistan.
"In fact Pakistan is fighting a war on terrorism," Yousaf Raza Gilani told reporters at a joint press conference with his British counterpart Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.
"We have good defense and intelligence cooperation with the U.S.. I don't think Osama Bin Laden is in Pakistan."
Pakistan has regularly been identified as the suspected hiding place of bin Laden since a major military offensive in Afghanistan in the wake of the 2001 al Qaeda attacks in the United States failed to uncover his whereabouts.
Brown, who has in the past criticized Pakistan's failure to track bin Laden, on Thursday pledged £50 million ($83 million) to Pakistan to help efforts to tackle terrorism, linking it to threats on British soil.
"This is your fight, but it is also Britain's fight," Brown told Gilani, offering praise for a recent military offensive that routed an emboldened Pakistani Taliban occupation of the Swat Valley, north of Islamabad.
"Your leadership in the last few months have been absolutely vital," Brown said.
Earlier this week Brown pledged 500 more British troops to the war effort in Afghanistan and U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to deploy 30,000 more troops to fight terror groups in Afghanistan and along the border of Pakistan.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
ICBMs Shift to New USAF Command
By JOHN REED
U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) took a concrete step toward fulfilling its mission of operating two-thirds of the Pentagon's nuclear triad when it took command Dec. 1 of 20th Air Force and its 450 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The new major command was stood up in August at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and will "serve as a single voice to maintain the high standards necessary for stewardship of our nation's most powerful weapons," said Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, AFGSC commander, in a statement released by the service Dec. 1.
Global Strike Command was established after numerous mistakes involving the Air Force's handling of nuclear weapons led many to believe the service had allowed the once-prestigious nuclear mission to atrophy since the end of the Cold War.
In February, the command is set to take over 8th Air Force, which operates the nation's nuclear-capable B-2 and B-52 heavy bombers.
Accused Fort Hood shooter to face 32 counts of attempted murder
(CNN) -- Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood massacre, will face an additional 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, Army officials said Wednesday.
Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist, already has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder for the 13 people who were fatally shot at the Army post on November 5.
The 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder are related to 30 soldiers and two civilians injured in the shooting, according to a Fort Hood news release.
Additional charges are possible, the statement said.
Hasan, who was wounded by two civilian officers, is being treated at a hospital. His lawyer says he is paralyzed from the waist down.
The incident prompted military brass at Fort Hood to tighten security procedures and expand mental health services.
A key congressional committee also opened an investigation into the Fort Hood shootings with a pledge to find out if authorities failed to "connect the dots" and could have prevented the attack.
Among other things, a memo reportedly written two years ago by Hasan's supervisor at Walter Reed Army Medical Center says Hasan demonstrated "a pattern of poor judgment and a lack of professionalism" during his residency at the hospital.
CNN could not corroborate the authenticity of the memo, which was obtained by National Public Radio.
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