G'aribiy
05-18-2004, 12:09 PM
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities are hunting the widow of an Uzbek Islamic militant after an intelligence report suggested she was training women suicide bombers, a senior provincial official said Tuesday.
The intelligence report indicated that Aziza, wife of Obaidullah, a member of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, would launch attacks in Pakistan in May, the government official in North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan told Reuters.
"It says she is training Pakistani women to become suicide bombers," said the official, who did not want to be identified.
"The search is on for her, but until now there is no information yet on exact locations or timings of her possible attacks."
He said Aziza set up a militant training camp in the mountainous tribal region bordering Afghanistan to avenge the killing of her husband in a Pakistani military operation in January.
However, Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Rauf Chaudhry denied authorities were hunting Aziza. "There is nothing of this sort," he said.
Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region has served as sanctuary for Islamic militants from Arab and Central Asian countries since Pakistan joined the U.S.-backed "war on terror" in late 2001.
Suicide bombings are a relatively recent militant tactic in Pakistan, which has been racked by Islamic militancy for decades. Officials say suicide blasts are linked to the influence of al Qaeda, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Fifteen Shi'ite Muslims were killed earlier this month when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded mosque in Karachi.
source: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5177342 (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5177342)
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The intelligence report indicated that Aziza, wife of Obaidullah, a member of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, would launch attacks in Pakistan in May, the government official in North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan told Reuters.
"It says she is training Pakistani women to become suicide bombers," said the official, who did not want to be identified.
"The search is on for her, but until now there is no information yet on exact locations or timings of her possible attacks."
He said Aziza set up a militant training camp in the mountainous tribal region bordering Afghanistan to avenge the killing of her husband in a Pakistani military operation in January.
However, Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Rauf Chaudhry denied authorities were hunting Aziza. "There is nothing of this sort," he said.
Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region has served as sanctuary for Islamic militants from Arab and Central Asian countries since Pakistan joined the U.S.-backed "war on terror" in late 2001.
Suicide bombings are a relatively recent militant tactic in Pakistan, which has been racked by Islamic militancy for decades. Officials say suicide blasts are linked to the influence of al Qaeda, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Fifteen Shi'ite Muslims were killed earlier this month when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded mosque in Karachi.
source: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5177342 (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5177342)
Do you think this is true?