{"id":26063,"date":"2017-04-05T10:22:57","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T10:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=26063"},"modified":"2017-04-05T10:22:57","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T10:22:57","slug":"taliban-attack-kills-6-pakistan-including-census-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/taliban-attack-kills-6-pakistan-including-census-workers.html","title":{"rendered":"Taliban attack kills 6 in Pakistan, including census workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTaliban attack kills 6 in Pakistan, including census workers<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\n<\/h2>\n

\n\tA Taliban suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a vehicle carrying census workers in eastern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six people — two data collectors and four soldiers who were escorting them, a government spokesman and police said.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe attack took place on the outskirts of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, said Malik Ahmad Khan, the provincial government spokesman. The border with India is several kilometers (miles) away from the site of the explosion.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tA local police official, Mohammad Afzal, said that along with the six killed, 15 people were wounded in the blast.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tTV stations aired footage showing the census workers’ badly destroyed vehicle. The blast was so powerful that it also damaged nearby shops.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tMohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the group sought to target Pakistan’s “impure army” that he called a “slave of America.” The militant group’s chief, Mullah Fazlullah, who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan, ordered the attack, the spokesman said.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSince Islamabad threw its support behind the United States in its war against terror in 2001, the Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaida and other militant groups have killed thousands of people in a bid to overthrow the Pakistani government and install their own harsh interpretation of Islamic law.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tPakistan’s military has carried out scores of operations, killing thousands of suspected militants.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tPakistan’s army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, later paid tribute to the victims of attack.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tHe pledged the census will be completed at any cost and that the sacrifices by the troops and civilians would strengthen the country’s resolve to fight terrorism.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tRana Sanaullah, a Cabinet member in the Punjab government, said attacks like Wednesday’s are being planned and executed by militants from Afghanistan — an often repeated claim by Islamabad.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tKabul denies it is sheltering any militant groups but various extremist factions use the porous Afghan-Pakistan border for cross-border attacks and often find sanctuaries on the other side<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tTens of thousands of data collectors, supported by 200,000 Pakistani soldiers, go door-to-door for the project, which is to be finished by May 15. However, societal conservatism and a lack of women census takers could result in Pakistan’s female population being under-represented.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t___<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAhmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press Writer Ishtiaq Mahsud contributed to this report from Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tCopyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSource:- https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/asia_pacific\/bombing-in-east-pakistan-kills-6-including-census-workers\/2017\/04\/05\/f6f2708c-19c6-11e7-8598-9a99da559f9e_story.html?utm_term=.96f898364933<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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