Karachi: 4 Killed, Several Injured In Attack On Two Navy Buses

KARACHI: Four people including two personnel of Pakistan Navy were killed in two separate terrorist attacks targeting Pakistan Navy buses in Karachi on Tuesday morning, a spokesman of Pakistan Navy said.

He identified the dead as Sub-Lieutenant Iqbal and Umar Farooq, a Sailor of Pakistan Navy, Dr. Nazia, a civilian working with Pakistan Navy, and Muhammad Sharif, a civilian employee of Pakistan Navy.

Of the 56 injured being treated at Pakistan Navy hospitals, some were discharged after providing them with first aid.

The spokesman pointed out that two Navy buses were targeted in two different parts of the metropolis almost simultaneously.

The buses, he added, were taking the staff to their respective units.

The two Navy buses were targeted in Defence Phase two and Mohajir Camp in Baldia Town area here.

The Commander Karachi, Rear Admiral Syed Khawar Ali, visited the hospitals and inquired about the health of the injured,

The spokesman further stated that the Naval Headquarters has ordered an inquiry.

The Inquiry Committee has been directed to submit its report to the Naval Headquarters.

Drone Strike Kills 25 in North Waziristan

PESHAWAR: Four missiles fired by two suspected U.S. pilotless aircraft hit a house in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan on the Afghan border on Friday, killing 25 militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The drone strike happened in Mir Ali, a town about 35 kilometers (20 miles) east of the region's main town of Miranshah.

An intelligence official in the region, who requested not to be identified, told Reuters that the house was being used as a militant hideout.

"They (the militants) have surrounded the area where the attack happened and are not allowing anybody to go there," he said, adding 25 bodies had been recovered from the rubble and three women were among those killed.

Another official said some foreign militants were among the dead, but that their numbers and nationalities could not confirmed.

The strike came two days after a visit to Islamabad by Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military official, in which he expressed concern over continuing links between Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the ISI, and militants attacking U.S.-led forces across the border in Afghanistan.

North Waziristan is a known sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants near the Afghan border.

The United States has been using drone attacks to target al Qaeda-linked militants over the past few years in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, a source of concern for the Pakistan government, which says civilian casualties stoke public anger and bolster support for militancy.

Blast in Karachi: 15 killed

KARACHI: At least fifteen people have been killed while 35 sustained injures in a powerful blast that ripped through Rami Club building near Ghaas Mandi area in Lyari locality on Thursday, our sources reported.

According to sources an unidentified person threw a hand grenade at the gambling den that killed fifteen people and severely injured 35.

Police and emergency services rushed to the blast site and kick started rescue activities, as death toll is feared to rise further.

Meanwhile, the rescue sources put the death toll at nine and the injured at 30.

Most of the wounded have been shifted to Civil Hospital where emergency has been declared.

The Medico Legal Officer (MLO) at the hospital said that more than 10 people were dead and 35 injured have been admitted to Civil Hospital so far.

The police are trying to ascertain the nature of the blast. No dead man has been identified.

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Mullen to Visit Pakistan this Week

 The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff will visit Islamabad this week for talks with Pakistani leaders as relations between the allies flounder amid a series of diplomatic rows.

Admiral Mike Mullen's visit is the latest shuttle diplomacy mission after a fatal shooting by a CIA contractor in January enflamed a row over intelligence sharing and heightened tensions over the controversial US drone war.

Mullen, the top US military official, is to visit for "discussions with leadership here", a military official in Pakistan said Tuesday, without giving further details.

Musharraf shows Olives branch to patch up with Nawaz Sharif

Former miltiary ruler Pervez Musharraf offered the olive branch to his arch foe, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in an interview to a Paksitani private television channel which was to be aired last night.

Musharraf, currently living abroad in self-imposed exile, said he wanted to make amends with Nawaz Sharif, who he toppled in October 1999 in a miltiary coup and then banished to Saudi Arabia for a decade along with younger brother Shahbaz and their family members.

But reconciliation was not a one-way street, said the former soldier, who was interviewed by the channel in Dubai.