By SALMAN MASOOD and DECLAN WALSH
Security forces in Islamabad were on high alert for a possible militant attack on Friday after intercepting threats against major military installations, the police said. The heightened security alert came hours after American officials evacuated the consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, also on security fears.
The police said 2,500 officers had been deployed across Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, after intelligence intercepts indicated that militants were planning to attack the headquarters of the Pakistan Air Force and Navy.
Private security guards killed a suicide bomber as he tried to force his way into a Shiite mosque on the edge of the capital, thwarting what appeared to be another in a series of sectarian attacks across Pakistan.
Earlier in the week, military commandos patrolled in Margalla Hills, which overlooks Islamabad and is considered one of the city’s most vulnerable security points.
“Government buildings are under threat, but we also have information that terrorists can also strike at a public place,” said a senior police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Meghan Gregonis, a spokeswoman for the American Embassy in Islamabad, said all but essential staff members had been evacuated from the Lahore consulate.
“It was a precautionary measure,” she said in a telephone interview. “We received specific information regarding the consulate.” Ms. Gregonis declined to specify the nature of the threat.
In Washington, Obama administration officials said the threat was not linked to the one from Al Qaeda that caused the closing of 19 diplomatic missions across Africa, Asia and the Middle East last weekend.
Lahore is the cultural capital of Pakistan and the home of the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. It has been targeted by militant groups several times in recent years, with attacks on police facilities, intelligence offices, and sporting and cultural events.
But the city is also home to militant groups that operate in plain view, like Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for terror attacks in 2008 in Mumbai, India, and whose leader, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, lives in a Lahore neighborhood under police protection.
The other two American consulates in Pakistan, in Karachi and Peshawar, had not been affected by the security threats. All American diplomatic missions in Pakistan would have been closed until Monday anyway because of the Muslim holiday Id al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
But, Ms. Gregonis said, while most American offices are expected to reopen on Monday, it is not clear when the Lahore consulate will return to normal.
A similar situation occurred in September when riots erupted in Lahore to protest a video clip that insulted the Prophet Muhammad and that had been produced in the United States. The protests forced the temporary closing of the consulate and the transfer of staff members to Islamabad.
Video footage of the attempted attack on the Shiite mosque in Islamabad, which was shown on a private television network, showed the suicide bomber approaching the mosque and exchanging fire with a security guard.
The bomber tried to detonate his explosives-laden vest, but it failed to detonate and he was shot dead by the security guards. One guard was seriously wounded and later died in a hospital.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Pakistan on High Alert After Intercepting Threats to Military Sites
By SALMAN MASOOD and DECLAN WALSH
Security forces in Islamabad were on high alert for a possible militant attack on Friday after intercepting threats against major military installations, the police said. The heightened security alert came hours after American officials evacuated the consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, also on security fears.
The police said 2,500 officers had been deployed across Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, after intelligence intercepts indicated that militants were planning to attack the headquarters of the Pakistan Air Force and Navy.
Private security guards killed a suicide bomber as he tried to force his way into a Shiite mosque on the edge of the capital, thwarting what appeared to be another in a series of sectarian attacks across Pakistan.
Earlier in the week, military commandos patrolled in Margalla Hills, which overlooks Islamabad and is considered one of the city’s most vulnerable security points.
“Government buildings are under threat, but we also have information that terrorists can also strike at a public place,” said a senior police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Meghan Gregonis, a spokeswoman for the American Embassy in Islamabad, said all but essential staff members had been evacuated from the Lahore consulate.
“It was a precautionary measure,” she said in a telephone interview. “We received specific information regarding the consulate.” Ms. Gregonis declined to specify the nature of the threat.
In Washington, Obama administration officials said the threat was not linked to the one from Al Qaeda that caused the closing of 19 diplomatic missions across Africa, Asia and the Middle East last weekend.
Lahore is the cultural capital of Pakistan and the home of the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. It has been targeted by militant groups several times in recent years, with attacks on police facilities, intelligence offices, and sporting and cultural events.
But the city is also home to militant groups that operate in plain view, like Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for terror attacks in 2008 in Mumbai, India, and whose leader, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, lives in a Lahore neighborhood under police protection.
The other two American consulates in Pakistan, in Karachi and Peshawar, had not been affected by the security threats. All American diplomatic missions in Pakistan would have been closed until Monday anyway because of the Muslim holiday Id al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
But, Ms. Gregonis said, while most American offices are expected to reopen on Monday, it is not clear when the Lahore consulate will return to normal.
A similar situation occurred in September when riots erupted in Lahore to protest a video clip that insulted the Prophet Muhammad and that had been produced in the United States. The protests forced the temporary closing of the consulate and the transfer of staff members to Islamabad.
Video footage of the attempted attack on the Shiite mosque in Islamabad, which was shown on a private television network, showed the suicide bomber approaching the mosque and exchanging fire with a security guard.
The bomber tried to detonate his explosives-laden vest, but it failed to detonate and he was shot dead by the security guards. One guard was seriously wounded and later died in a hospital.
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