A faction of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) cooperated with Daesh (IS) this week in an attack on a police college that killed 59 people, the group’s spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday.
The confirmation of a link between the two groups will stoke fears that Middle East-based Daesh is building a presence in Pakistan by aligning with domestic militant outfits.
Daesh (IS) claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack in Quetta and released photographs of the purported gunmen, who hunted down and killed police cadets during a raid that lasted nearly five hours.
But Pakistani authorities, who in September said they had crushed Islamic State’s efforts to enter Pakistan, pinned the blame for the assault on a LeJ faction, Al-Alami.
“We have no direct link with Daesh, but we have done this attack together,” said Ali bin Sufyan, spokesman for LeJ Al-Alami, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
Sufyan declined to elaborate on the help Al Alami provided to Islamic State in Quetta, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s vast but impoverished Baluchistan region.
“We will provide help to anyone who asks against Pakistani security forces, and we will also accept help for this,” Sufyan added.
LeJ, whose roots are in the heartland Punjab province, has a history of launching sectarian attacks in Baluchistan, particularly against the minority Hazara Shias. Pakistan has previously accused LeJ of colluding with al Qaeda.
Authorities launched a crackdown against LeJ last year, particularly in Punjab. In a blow to the group, Malik Ishaq, its leader, was killed in July 2015, along with 13 members of the central leadership in what police call a failed escape attempt.
there is not much difference between Daesh, LEJ, or Taliban, TTP and Al Qaeda…they are all radical Islamic militants who use brainwashed suicide bombers to kill innocent people…when will the muslim world summon the courage to stop these radicals who are slaughtering muslims?
Once iran was saying that it only processing opium, but badly effected its society. When pakistan using terrorism against anybody for any purpose it is a must that it is affected by it and will be on in the future. Pakistan is not in a state to give up its path of helping and getting help from terrorism. So the consequences are quite clear.
[…] LeJ worked with Daesh to attack Quetta Police College – A faction of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) cooperated with Daesh (IS) this week in an attack on a police college that killed 59 people, the group’s spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday. The … […]
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