Sunday, January 6, 2013

Meanwhile in Pakistan

Indian troops have raided a Pakistani military post, killing one soldier and injuring another, the Pakistani military said, an incident that could heighten tensions between the neighbouring nuclear powers after a period of rapprochement.

The Pakistani army repulsed the attack on the Sawan Patra checkpoint in Kashmir early on Sunday, an army spokesman said in a statement.

The two sides then exchanged fire across the Line of Control, an internationally recognised line in the disputed Kashmir region patrolled by troops from both countries.

Colonel Brijesh Pandey, a spokesman for the Indian army in Kashmir said that Pakistani troops "initiated unprovoked firing" and fired mortars and automatic weapons at Indian posts early Sunday morning.

[...]

Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said attacks across the Line of Control are not uncommon.

"We're getting conflicting reports from both sides. The Indians saying that this was retaliatory fire for a mortar attack coming from the Pakistani side. However, the Pakistani military said a number of Indian soldiers took on a Pakistani military post, after which the Pakistanis retaliated and the Indians were forced to flee, leaving some of their weapons behind," our correspondent said.

[...]

The two countries have been slowly repairing relations in recent months.

  alJazeera

Maybe that should read “had been.”

At least 16 people have been killed and several others wounded in a US drone strike against a suspected Taliban compound in Pakistan's South Waziristan region, according to Al Jazeera's Islamabad bureau.

About eight to 10 missiles were reportedly fired hitting three different targets including a compound in Babar Zariat, a border village between North and South Waziristan, the AJ bureau said.

More militants were believed to be in the locations when they were hit on Sunday, meaning the death toll may rise, according to the Reuters news agency.

The compounds were believed to house fighters belonging to the Punjabi Taliban, a group with close links to al-Qaeda, intelligence officials said.

Al Jazeera identified the commander of the group as Qari Imran. But there is no confirmation on his death.

"We are not sure who was killed on the ground, whether they were indeed militants as claimed by the intelligence sources," Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder said. "Normally, there are civilian casualties as well, particularly when compounds and houses are hit."

  alJazeera

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

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