International   

Radical preacher hideout attacked

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces used helicopter gunships and heavy weapons to blast a hideout of a radical preacher in Swat district of the North West Frontier Province on Friday.

It was not clear if Maulana Fazlullah, who heads the outlawed Tehreek Nifaz-e-Sharia Muhammadi and leads a campaign for a Taliban-style rule, was present in the hideout in a village in Swat but militants inside were reported to be offering fierce resistance. There is no official word about casualties, if any, but civilians were reported to be fleeing the area in large numbers.

The fighting came a day after at least 16 troops were killed when a blast ripped through the truck that was transporting them in Mingora, in Swat district.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed preacher of the recently reopened Lal Masjid has expressed support for Maulana Fazlullah, who is known for his radical sermons over an illegal FM radio station.

Amir Siddiqui, the Naib Imam of Lal Masjid, told journalists said the Swat maulana had supported Abdul Rashid Ghazi, head cleric of Lal Masjid killed in the operation. “Now it is our turn to support the cause of Fazlullah.”

He said the soldiers who were killed in Wednesday’s blast died the death of “infidels.”

The naib imam warned that the Army would find the going rough in Swat. He said the situation would be “more dangerous for the Army than that in the tribal areas and Balochistan.”

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Sanctions doomed to fail: Iran
Sri Lanka continues pre-emptive strikes
China sees complications
Radical preacher hideout attacked
Chang’e-1 in second orbital transfer
Relaxation on rice export hailed
Creative escapee captured
Merkel for closer ties with Asia

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu