Morning Brief: The Taliban bites back

Wed, 06/10/2009 - 7:45am

TOP STORY: The death toll from yesterday's bombing at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan has risen to 16. Gunmen first overwhelmed guards before a car bomb exploded, destroying half the hotel. The Pearl's guests included U.N. officials working on Pakistan's refugee crisis. Two of them were among the dead. The U.N. has now evacuated its personnel from Peshawar. (FP's Elizabeth Dickinson has more on how yesterday's bombing connects to Pakistan's refugee crisis.)

A security official told the Financial Times that the attack was likely carried out by militants loyal to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. This is the latest in a string of bombings in Pakistani cities, likely provoked by the Pakistani government's offensive against the Taliban in Northwest Pakistan. 

The fighting continued in the Swat Valley and surrounding regions today with the military claiming dozens of terrorist casualties. Shortly before yesterday's attack, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, testifying before the Senate, praised the Pakistani government's new offensive, saying that previous peace agreements with the Taliban had directly led to an upsurge in violence across the border in Afghanistan.

UNDER THE RADAR: A new report finds that climate change is one of the main factors driving migration in the world today.

Middle East

  • A car bombing killed 35 people in a crowded market in southern Iraq. 
  • With Iran's election coming down the wire, former President Akbar Hashemi Rasfanjani lashed out at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for making "baseless and irresponsible statements."
  • Turkey sentenced six suspected al Qaeda members to life in prison for the 2003 Istanbul bombings.

Asia

  • The Pacific island nation of Palau has offered to accept 17 Uighur prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. 
  • Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso vowed that his country would cut greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent by 2020. 
  • Thailand has sent troops to its border with Burma to prevent an influx of refugees from the Karen ethnic group.

Africa

  • The U.N. High Council on Refugees says more than 100,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Somalia since May. 
  • The speaker of Gabon's senate has been sworn in as interim president after the death of longtime leader Omar Bongo.
  • MEND rebels have set fire to a Chevron pumping station in the Niger Delta.

Americas

Europe

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Joshua Keating | Permalink | | Comments? Login or register
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