Source:
Brisbane TimesTHE Taliban claims it is ready to unleash 3000 suicide bombers in Pakistan in protest at military operations and US drone attacks in its tribal areas.In the past few weeks the Taliban's military commander for Afghanistan, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar's deputy, was captured in a raid in Karachi by Pakistani and US agents.
Several members of the Quetta Shura, the movement's ruling council, were later captured in the city, while the group's Pakistani leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was believed to have been killed in a missile strike by an unmanned Predator drone.
Earlier this week, Mullah Omar's son-in-law, a former minister in the last Taliban government, was also arrested.
The threat was issued after one of its leaders claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb that killed 13 people outside an interrogation centre in Lahore where militant suspects are questioned.
Eight officials from the Federal Investigation Agency were among those killed when the bomber detonated a car packed with 590 kilograms of explosives between the office and a local religious school.
It was the third time the centre had been targeted and marked a return to its suicide bombing campaign after a number of serious setbacks for the Taliban leadership.
The bombing in Lahore indicated that the movement retains the ability to strike throughout Pakistan, while Azam Tariq, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed that it had the capacity to intensify its campaign.
''We have around 3000 more suicide bombers. We'll target all government places, buildings and offices,'' he said.ETA link:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/3000-bombers-set-for-pakistan-20100310-pzbm.html