Spring Break
Cartoons may have prompted bombing of Danish embassy in Pakistan
June 3, 2008
Saeed Shah - McClatchy NewspapersIssue date: 5/29/08 Section: Real News
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan _ A car bomb ripped through the street outside the Danish embassy here, killing at least six, in an apparent act of revenge against cartoons of the prophet Muhammad published in Danish newspapers in 2005.
A Danish citizen of Pakistani origin was among the dead, according to the Danish Foreign Ministry in Copenhagen. Local Pakistani media put the fatalities at eight; 35 were injured.
It was the first bombing, outside Pakistan's troubled northwest, since the country's new government came into office at the end of March. Officials previously had suggested that the controversial new policy of holding peace talks with Islamist militants based in the northwest tribal region had ended a vicious campaign of bombings that had rocked the previous regime.
"This has far-reaching consequences," said Javed Hashmi, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan's second largest political party and an estranged member of the ruling coalition government. "Since this democratic government came in, bomb blasts had lessened. Today that challenge has stood up again."
The car bomb exploded about 1 p.m. local time on a side street that runs alongside the Danish mission, which is in an upscale residential area of Islamabad. A crater about six feet across and three feet deep was left in the street, the car completely blown away by the force of the blast. Its engine was thrown more than 30 feet away. Officials said it was unclear whether it was a suicide attack. Pieces of human flesh were scattered across the area.
There were fears that the Taliban-inspired groups blamed for the previous bombings had started a new drive against the government. But experts thought it more likely that either a Taliban splinter group was behind the attack, seeking to derail the peace process, or an international group with a different agenda.
"The severity of the blast, type of technology used was quite different (from previous bombings)," said Talat Masood, a retired general turned security analyst. "It looks as if they wanted an international impact, an agenda outside our national boundaries."
A Danish citizen of Pakistani origin was among the dead, according to the Danish Foreign Ministry in Copenhagen. Local Pakistani media put the fatalities at eight; 35 were injured.
It was the first bombing, outside Pakistan's troubled northwest, since the country's new government came into office at the end of March. Officials previously had suggested that the controversial new policy of holding peace talks with Islamist militants based in the northwest tribal region had ended a vicious campaign of bombings that had rocked the previous regime.
"This has far-reaching consequences," said Javed Hashmi, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan's second largest political party and an estranged member of the ruling coalition government. "Since this democratic government came in, bomb blasts had lessened. Today that challenge has stood up again."
The car bomb exploded about 1 p.m. local time on a side street that runs alongside the Danish mission, which is in an upscale residential area of Islamabad. A crater about six feet across and three feet deep was left in the street, the car completely blown away by the force of the blast. Its engine was thrown more than 30 feet away. Officials said it was unclear whether it was a suicide attack. Pieces of human flesh were scattered across the area.
There were fears that the Taliban-inspired groups blamed for the previous bombings had started a new drive against the government. But experts thought it more likely that either a Taliban splinter group was behind the attack, seeking to derail the peace process, or an international group with a different agenda.
"The severity of the blast, type of technology used was quite different (from previous bombings)," said Talat Masood, a retired general turned security analyst. "It looks as if they wanted an international impact, an agenda outside our national boundaries."
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