The first terrorist revenge attack for the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was claimed on Friday after two individuals detonated suicide bomb vests at a paramilitary training facility in Pakistan. The strike resulted in 80 deaths, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 12).
(May. 13) - Security officials examine wrecked vehicles outside a training center for Pakistan's Frontier Constabulary, where two people detonated suicide bomb vests on Friday. The Pakistani Taliban said the attack was carried out in retaliation to the U.S. raid last week that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (A. Majeed/Getty Images).The attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban was intended to "avenge the Abbottabad incident," spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said, referring to the May 1 U.S. commando raid that resulted in bin Laden's death at a compound in the town of Abbottabad.
The two suicide attackers detonated their explosives at the primary entrance to a military training center for the Frontier Constabulary, which has been financially supported by the United States and has sent troops to fight al-Qaeda and other extremists near the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. Police officer Liaqat Ali Khan said 66 of those killed were recruits.
Ehsan said the Friday attack in Shabqadar would be followed by strikes targeting U.S. citizens residing in Pakistan.
An explosion at a parking lot in northwest Pakistan also caused the destruction of about 24 vehicles, including 15 tanker trucks transporting fuel for NATO into Afghanistan (Riaz Khan, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, May 13).
Even as bin Laden for years evaded a massive manhunt, he pondered ways to mount another terrorist assault in the United States as a follow-up to the September 11 attacks. His thoughts, recorded in a diary, show he focused on maximizing U.S. casualties by attacking large population centers such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The journal, other documents, data storage devices and computers were captured by U.S. Navy SEALs during their raid on the Abbottabad compound. U.S. intelligence analysts are now racing to analyze the large information cache. Read more
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