Child Of 12 Detonates In The Name Of Islam Killing 41 People...

The attacks, which have claimed more than 100 lives, represent a major escalation by the Taliban and come before the army launches a major offensive against militant targets in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

The bomber, said by local security sources to be aged 12 or 13, targeted a military vehicle that was passing through a bazaar in Alpuri in Shangla district, on the edge of the S More..wat Valley, where the military is just completing an anti-Taliban operation.

All six military personnel in the vehicle were killed but dozens of civilians in the bazaar were also killed.

The powerful blast shredded and incinerated the market and nearby vehicles, leaving the area blackened and smoking.

"It appears to be a suicide attack. The bomber hit one of three military vehicles that were passing through the busiest market in the district," said Khan Bahadur Khan, Shangla's senior police official.

The Pakistani Taliban have brainwashed children to carry out such missions, and are known to have run "suicide schools" in Waziristan and Swat.

The army is expected to launch a ground offensive within days in Waziristan, which is the epicentre of Pakistani jihadism, as well as a crucial refuge for Afghan insurgents and Al-Qaeda.

The commando-style assault on Pakistan's army headquarters in Rawalpindi at the weekend has made the Waziristan campaign, which has been discussed for months, even more pressing.

The assault and ensuing hostage situation in Rawalpindi left 14 military and civilian personnel dead. All but one of the gunmen were killed after a 22-hour siege ended on Sunday, with their leader taken alive.

The army's chief spokesman, Maj Gen Athar Abbas, said on Monday the gunmen, who wore army uniforms, had planned to hold senior army officers hostage until their demands were met. They issued a list of demands topped by the release of 100 jailed extremists, as well as demanding the trial of the former US-backed military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, and the expulsion of American officials from Pakistan.

The terrorists had held 22 hostages in a single small room, with a suicide bomber in the middle, ready to blow himself up. The man wearing the suicide vest was killed before he could press the trigger.

"We believe that the main training for this operation was in South Waziristan," said Maj Gen Abbas.

He also said that the military had intercepted a phone call in which Waliur Rehman, the number two in the Pakistani Taliban, was heard speaking to an associate, asking him to "pray" for the success of the attack on army headquarters.

On Monday the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Added: Oct 12 2009 In: middle_east

By: THE_HAMMER_OF_POITIERS