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Brigadier Assassinated in Islamabad

Head of UN mission killed as army pushes into Taliban heartland

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 22, 2009 4:04 AM CDT
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(Newser) – A top army officer was gunned down in the Pakistani capital today as the military continued to push into the Taliban's Waziristan sanctuary. Brigadier Moinudin Ahmed, head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan, was shot dead  along with his driver by suspected militants on a motorbike as their jeep moved through rush-hour traffic in Islamabad. Authorities believe the killing was a direct reprisal for the anti-Taliban offensive, reports the New York Times.

Today's attack is believed to be the first targeted attack on a senior army officer in Islamabad and likely signals a change in tactics by the insurgents, who have demonstrated their ability to strike anywhere in the country with a series of bombings in recent weeks. Military officials say the offensive in Waziristan is making progress on several fronts and is closing in on the hometown of the Taliban's Pakistani leader.

A police officer drives away an army jeep with bullet holes in the windshield, after it was attacked by gunmen in Islamabad, Pakistan, today.
A police officer drives away an army jeep with bullet holes in the windshield, after it was attacked by gunmen in Islamabad, Pakistan, today.   (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
Police officers question an imam, second from left, in front of a mosque during a search operation near the site where an army jeep was attacked by gunmen in Islamabad today.
Police officers question an imam, second from left, in front of a mosque during a search operation near the site where an army jeep was attacked by gunmen in Islamabad today.   (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
Security personnel inspect an army jeep with the windshield pockmarked with bullet holes after it was attacked by gunmen in Islamabad, Pakistan, today.
Security personnel inspect an army jeep with the windshield pockmarked with bullet holes after it was attacked by gunmen in Islamabad, Pakistan, today.   (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
RogerMohajir
Oct 22, 2009 2:09 AM CDT
"I've seen the nations rise and fall / I've heard their stories, heard them all / but love's the only engine of survival / Your servant here, he has been told to say it clear, to say it cold: / It's over, it ain't going any further / And now the wheels of heaven stop / you feel the devil's riding crop / Get ready for the future: it is murder. " Leonard Cohen, "The Future."

 
Taliban • Pakistan • Islamabad • Waziristan • Pakistan army • South Waziristan

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