March 20, 2014 | Quote
Pakistan Militant Group Takes Responsibility for Two Bombings
A little-known Islamist militant group took responsibility for twin bombings hundreds of miles apart Friday that killed at least 19 people, wounded dozens and underscored the vulnerability of the Pakistani government's attempt to open peace talks with insurgents.
In the provincial capital of Peshawar, near the northeastern tribal areas that border Afghanistan, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a bustling market on the city's outskirts as worshipers were gathering for prayers. Nine people were killed and 30 injured, police and hospital officials said.
Nearly 400 miles away in the city of Quetta, at least 10 people were killed and 31 wounded when a bomb planted on a bicycle exploded in front of a college on a busy road, police said. Most of the victims were riding in a bus but officials said the target could have been a vehicle belonging to the paramilitary Frontier Corps, which had passed by the spot just moments before the blast.
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In February, a spokesman for the group told the Long War Journal website that “sharia can never be attained through talks” and said the group's “activities will be concentrated in major cities” to demonstrate the militants' strength in urban areas, not only Pakistan's lawless tribal regions.