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| 12 die as blast rocks NWA |
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
Al-Qaeda leader al-Misri reported among dead
By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: Twelve people, including Arab, Pakistani and Afghan militants, were killed and several others injured, some of them women and children, in a mysterious blast in Surkot village, five kilometres east of Miramshah, regional headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, on Wednesday evening.
Among the dead, the name of al-Qaeda operative Abu Musa al-Misri was also circulating. Tribal and Taliban sources said four houses were destroyed in the devastating blast caused by explosives dumped inside the house in Surkot village.
They strongly denied reports that the blast caused by a drone attack. Also, they denied the killing of any senior al-Qaeda operative in the blast, but admitted that some of the victims were “guests”, a word they referred to the foreign militants fighting in Afghanistan.
They said a man with the same name — Abu Musa al-Misri — has already been declared dead in two previous drone attacks at Naurak and later at Khaisura in Mirali subdivision in North Waziristan Agency.
When reached by telephone, a senior Taliban commander, who wished not to be named, said the dead included Arabs, Pakistani and Afghan fighters, and some children of the Arab militants.
He said the militants have dumped huge explosives inside the house and were making a bomb from explosives when they mistakenly touched some wires that caused a huge blast. He said four other houses located in the same vicinity were also destroyed, causing widespread destruction.
The injured, including women and children of the militants, have been shifted to Miramshah hospitals. The sources said the militants surrounded the affected area and called tractors to help retrieve bodies and injured from the rubble of the damaged buildings.
“The death toll may go up as still there are people under the rubble,” said a tribal elder of Surkot village. He said it was a heavy blast that shook the entire town. He did not agree that the blast was caused by the drone attack as no drone was sighted in the area at the time of explosion.
A government official based in Miramshah admitted that it was not the drone attack, but said it was possible that the US forces from across the border in Afghanistan could have fired guided missile as the destruction was far beyond drone attack.
“Only a room or two are usually damaged in the drone attack. But it caused extensive destruction which seem to me is something very serious,” said the official pleading anonymity.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
