Militants mark beginning of Ramadan with 20 killings

At least 20 people, including six children, were killed in separate attacks launched by suspected militants across the country on Saturday.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 20 injured in two acts of terrorism in the Speen Thal area of North Waziristan and Doog Dara area of Upper Dir. Condition of several of the injured was stated to be critical and officials feared the death toll could rise.
Reports from North Waziristan Agency said a suicide bomber blew himself up with explosives packed in his vest outside the main gate of a compound in Speen Thall, close to the border of Thall area of Hangu district.
The explosion razed to ground various portions of the compound run by Maulana Mohammad Nabi Hanfi, a pro-government militant commander. Nabi survived the attack as he was not present inside the building.
Officials in Miranshah, headquarter of NWA, said a large number of people, including teenage boys, were present inside the compound when the bomber struck. At least nine people were killed and 16 others were left injured. The second terror act occurred in Upper Dir where a passenger van was targeted by militants with an improvised explosive device (IED). Officials said the passenger van was on way to Sheringal from Shahkaas area when it was hit by the IED near Doog Dara. Three people in the van were killed on the spot and a fourth succumbed to injuries before reaching the hospital. Six injured people were shifted to a hospital. No one has claimed responsibility for both terror acts. However, officials said the NWA suicide attack was the result of rivalry between two militant groups, while the Taliban could be involved in the terror act in Upper Dir.
Militants from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Swat and Bajaur chapters have taken refuge in the Pak-Afghan border areas and have been launching deadly attacks on security forces, pro-government tribal elders and volunteers of peace lashkar in border regions of Upper Dir from the last one year.

Gwadar attack
Meanwhile, in insurgency-hit Balochistan’s Gwadar district, suspected Baloch militants gunned down seven personnel of Pakistan Coast Guards, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), while a civilian and three other soldiers were injured in the attack.
Per details, unidentified armed men in a car and two motorcycles surrounded the checkpost of coast guards in Pashookan area, 30kms west of Gwadar, on Saturday afternoon when all men on duty were taking a nap.
They barged into the room and opened indiscriminate fire on the personnel, killing seven guards on the spot.
Three soldiers and a civilian worker who was painting the room got injured by the gunfire.
The attackers made away with all the weapons and ammunition of the deceased coast guards.
Upon receiving information, heavy contingents of Pakistan Coast guards, Frontier Corps Balochistan and Levies Force rushed to the area from Gwadar.
The dead and injured were shifted to hospitals in Gwader. The deceased workers were identified as Ghani Asif, Sher Ali, Riaz Ahmed, Akmal, Adnan, Shahbaz and Abdul Sattar. Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Sohailur Rahman said the unidentified armed men first surrounded the camp and later forced their way into the room to kill the security personnel.He said all personnel were asleep at the time of the attack and were shot at point blank.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, however banned outfit Baloch Liberation Front has been carrying out such acts in Makran division.
Authorities have rounded up over a dozen suspects for interrogation. Gwadar, the port town that has seen a construction boom over the past decade as part of Pakistan’s plans to develop it with Chinese help, has been left in the lurch due to the conflict between Baloch rebels and the government. Balochistan has long suffered from Islamist militancy, sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims and a separatist insurgency which targets government officials and security agencies.
Baloch rebels have been up in arms since in 2004, when they started a low-key rebellion against the government, demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the oil, gas and mineral resources in the region. Another arm of the insurgency demands absolute secession from the federation.