Terrorism spreads to pakistan

Militant and Terrorist Groups Spreading in Pakistan
Time.com

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Deadly blast in Pakistan Play Video Reuters – Deadly blast in Pakistan

* Pakistan Slideshow:Pakistan
* Deadly end to Pakistan army siege Play Video Video:Deadly end to Pakistan army siege Reuters
* At least 49 dead as blast hits Pakistan market Play Video Video:At least 49 dead as blast hits Pakistan market AFP

Taliban claim NW Pakistan blast that killed 45 AFP – Pakistani security personnel gather at the side of a suicide bomb blast in Pakistan's northwestern …
By OMAR WARAICH / RAWALPINDI Omar Waraich / Rawalpindi – Tue Oct 13, 11:10 am ET

Just weeks after trumpeting the results of a military offensive in the Swat Valley, the Pakistan army suddenly finds itself under attack on multiple fronts. A day after an Élite unit of army commandos secured the release of 39 hostages, bringing to an end a 22-hour siege of its military headquarters that left 25 people dead over the weekend, the Taliban struck again. In the fourth major attack in eight days, a suicide bomber killed 41 people in a marketplace near Swat on Monday, underscoring the militants' enduring ability to strike across the country.

As the army revealed in a briefing on Oct. 12, the Taliban threat has now spread well beyond its northwestern borderlands and grown tentacles that reach deep into the country's heartlands. Five of the 10 attackers who laid siege to Pakistan's equivalent of the Pentagon in Rawalpindi came from Punjab, Pakistan's largest and wealthiest province. It is also home to the bulk of the army. The Punjabi militants involved in the audacious assault were linked to groups that once enjoyed the military's patronage, and until five years ago, the ringleader had been among its very own ranks. (See pictures of Pakistan's vulnerable North-West Frontier Province.)

Aqeel, also known as Dr. Usman, was already wanted for earlier terrorist attacks. He acquired his medical nom de guerre due to his 16 years as a nurse in the army's medical corps. In 2004, he abandoned the army to join Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a vicious sectarian terror group from Punjab. "He knew how the army functions," says Shaukat Qadir, a retired brigadier turned analyst. "That's why he organized this attack better than others could have done." The embarrassing breach of the heavily fortified headquarters was made possible through artful disguise, military officials said. The vehicle bore army license plates and the emblem of the General Headquarters (GHQ) on its windshield. The attackers dressed themselves in army fatigues.