8/14/2019 Thesun 2009-08-25 Page09 Army Chief Al Qaeda Capable
of More Attacks
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news without borders9theSun | TUESDAY AUGUST 25 2009
13 men arrested overterror plots in Karachi
KARACHI: Pakistani police have arrested 13 men accused
ofplotting attacks across the country, with one cell planning
todisrupt Ramadan and the other targeting economic hub Ka-rachi,
police said yesterday. In Karachi on Sunday, police heldseven
members of banned Al Qaeda-linked extremist groupLashkar-e-Jhangvi
on suspicion of planning suicide attacks inthe southern port city
and capital of Sindh province.
We have arrested seven men and recovered three
explo-sives-filled jackets and detonators, said senior Karachi
policeofficial Saud Mirza. He said that a large quantity of
explosiveshad also been seized in the Sunday raid.
They were planning to hit some major targets includingpolice
establishments and Shiite mosques in the city, headded. The
material we have recovered from them wasenough to start a small war
in a part of the city.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is regarded as the fiercest of PakistansSunni
Muslim extremist outfits and is known to have mountednumerous
attacks on the minority Shiite Muslim communityand other targets
since it was formed in 1996.
Pakistani authorities blame the group for the devastatingattack
last September on Islamabads five-star Marriott Hotel,which left 60
people dead, and say the group has strong linksto the Taliban and
Al Qaeda.
One of the seven detainees, Shehzad Munna, was an ex-pert in
manufacturing suicide jackets and traversed Pakistanrecruiting for
terrorist organisations and training young menfor suicide attacks,
Mirza said.
Six more suspected militants were taken into custodyyesterday in
Punjab Pakistans most populous province.
We have arrested six suspected terrorists who were plan-ning to
hit key installations in major cities, said Usman Anwar,district
police officer of Sargodha, a city located in the heartof Punjab
province. AFP
WASHINGTON: Al Qaedaremains very capable of at-tacking the
United States, thetop US military officer saidas he tried to boost
waningUS support for the conflict inAfghanistan.
Nearly eight years afterthe Sept 11, 2001 attacks thatkilled
some 3,000 people, AlQaeda is still very capable,
very focused on it,chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff
MikeMullen (pix) saidon NBCs Meet thePresson Sunday.
They alsoare able to bothtrain and support
and finance, andso that capability isstill significant,
hesaid.
Mullen added that the USmilitary is very focused onmaking sure
that it doesnthappen again, referring tothe potential for another
such
attack on US soil. Meanwhile,Al Qaeda is gaining from thesupport
of Taliban fightersin Afghanistan and Pakistan,making the US fight
againstextremism in Afghanistanall the more urgent, Mullensaid.
I think it the situation inAfghanistan is serious
anddeteriorating and Ive said
that over the last coupleof years, that the Tali-
ban insurgency hasgotten better, moresophisticated.
US supportfor the war inAfghanistan hasappeared tepid
at best. A surveyby the Washington
Post and ABC Newsin mid-August suggested
51% believe the war is notworth fighting, while 47%support
it.
Certainly the numbersare of concern, Mullen
said, as Washington rampsup efforts to bolster the sizeand
strength of US forces inAfghanistan.
President Barack Obama,who has made the conflicta top priority
in his admin-istration and declared thewar there a necessity,
hasordered the deploymentof 21,000 additional troopswhich would
boost the totalto 68,000 by the end of theyear.
The White House isalso expecting within twoweeks an evaluation
by thecommander of US forces inAfghanistan, Gen StanleyMcChrystal,
who may cut
the number of troops insupport staff roles to free upsoldiers
for combat againstTaliban insurgents.
McChrystal, who overseesAmerican and Nato troopsin Afghanistan,
is weighingthe step as he carries out anassessment of the war
effort
Army chief: Al Qaeda
capable of more attacks
amid widespread speculationhe is preparing to requestmore US
troops.
The New York Timesreported US military com-manders in
Afghanistan toldPresident Barack Obamaschief envoy to the region
thatthey did not have enough
troops to do their job.The newspaper said the
commanders spoke thisweekend with Richard Hol-brooke, who over
the pasttwo days, visited all fourregional command centresin
Afghanistan.
All four told him that whilethe additional US troopshave had
some benefit in thesouth, the numbers remainbelow what
commandersneed, the report said.
While the Pentagon hassaid the official recommen-dation will not
include a re-quest for troops, Washingtonexpects such a request in
thecoming months.
US Independent SenatorJoseph Lieberman, who re-cently met with
McChrystal
in Afghanistan, confirmedthat a request would beforthcoming.
We didnt talk about it indetail. But its very clear thatGeneral
McChrysal is goingto ask for more troops, hesaid on CNNs State of
theUniontalk show. AFP
