Baitullah Mehsud behind attacks in Rawalpindi

Preliminary investigations into Tuesdays suicide attacks near the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi indicate that they were carried out by the South Waziristan-based Baitullah Mehsud Group, sources said.

Islamabad, Sep 6 : Preliminary investigations into Tuesday's suicide attacks near the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi indicate that they were carried out by the South Waziristan-based Baitullah Mehsud Group, sources said.

Investigators found evidence that the bomb-hit bus belonged to the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). Sources said an investigation agency had recovered a small Russian-made device called MUV-2 from the bus.

The device triggers explosives when a suicide bomber pulls out a pin, they said.

Investigations at the Qasim Market blast scene suggest that the device was not like the one used in Islamabad in July, but was similar to the bomb used in attacks on paramilitary forces by the Baitullah Mehsud Group, sources said.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Tariq Pervez confirmed that the device was similar to the one's used in the suicide attacks in Peshawar, Charsada, Dera Ismail Khan and at a Mosque in Kohat on July 19.

"Yes, in my assessment, the Baitulluh Mehsud group conducted the attacks," Pervez was quoted by the Daily Times, as saying.

Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema said the bombers had suspected links to pro-Taliban militants backed by al Qaeda.

He said that the investigators are focusing on the Baitullah Mehsud, and added that no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far.

Security sources said the two attackers might have been the remaining members of a seven-member team of bombers, some allegedly sent by the Mehsud, that infiltrated Islamabad and Rawalpindi ahead of Pakistan's Independence Day celebrations.

Five were arrested recently "but there is a fear that the two others may have carried out the latest attacks," a security official said.

ANI