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26 Apr 2009 08:50:19 GMT
Source: Reuters MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, April 26 (Reuters) - Four children and their
parents were killed in a grenade blast in Pakistan's restive northwest
on Sunday, a day after 12 children were killed by a bomb hidden in a
football.
Violence has increased in the region as Taliban fighters have extended
their reach. Western allies, needing Pakistan's help to defeat al Qaeda
and stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan, fear the country is in danger of
sliding into chaos. Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief, Rehman Malik, blamed the Taliban for
Saturday's football bomb. "The Taliban have exposed their real face by killing innocent children,"
Malik said. Authorities were unsure who to blame for Sunday's grenade attack as they
were uncertain whether the parents were carrying the grenade, or if it
was planted in the car they were travelling in with their eight children. The grenade exploded in the car near Datta Kheil, a district in the
North Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghan border. "The parents and four of their children died instantly and their bodies
were brought to hospital," Mirbad Khan, a hospital official in
Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, said. "Four other children
were wounded." North Waziristan is a known sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants. The football bomb attack that killed 12 children occurred 260 km (162
miles) further to the northeast, at a village in the mountains of Lower Dir. The children, five of them girls, found the ball as they were returning
from school. Seven victims belonged to the same family. Malik said investigators would check whether the children were targeted
because their families had refused to let the Taliban take them for
training, including as suicide attackers. He also appealed to parents across North West Frontier Province (NWFP)
to stop children accepting food or toys from strangers. Dir is part of the Malakand division of NWFP, where President Asif Ali
Zardari this month sanctioned the imposition of Islamic law under a
controversial deal aimed at ending conflict with Taliban militants in
Swat valley. But just days after Zardari's move, fighters in Swat intruded into
neighbouring parts of Malakand, closer to the Pakistani capital of
Islamabad. Western governments have criticised Pakistan for cutting deals, saying
the strategy will encourage militants. Pakistani officials say they are trying to use political means to reduce
the violence, but signs are emerging that the government is preparing to
unleash the military. (Reporting by Haji Mujtaba, writing by Zeeshan
Haider; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Alex Richardson)
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