Islamabad, Pakistan – Militants bombed an army convoy, then raked it with gunfire Wednesday, killing 17 soldiers and continuing a wave of violence that has stirred doubts about Pakistan’s stability.
At least five suspected militants also died in clashes with security forces in North Waziristan, a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold on the Afghan border where a disputed peace deal has collapsed and Pak istani troops have moved in.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf urged moderate Pakistanis, many of whom are pressing him to stand down and restore civilian rule, to help him take on the extremists. Still, his military-led government on Wednesday also challenged U.S. claims that al-Qaeda was regrouping near the Afghan frontier.
Suicide attacks, bombings and shootings blamed on Islamic extremists and a bloody army siege of radicals in Islamabad’s Red Mosque have killed more than 240 people this month.
Adding to the tension, a suicide bomber killed 16 people Tuesday at a rally for Pakistan’s suspended chief justice, whose legal battle with Musharraf has galvanized opposition to military rule. A verdict in the case is expected as early as Friday.
Critics accuse Musharraf of leading the country toward civil war and using the crisis to shore up U.S. support for his 8-year-old military regime. There is growing concern that this year’s elections will be postponed.
However, Musharraf insisted Wednesday that the vote would go ahead and dismissed speculation he would declare a state of emergency. He also claimed that al-Qaeda was on the run.
“Al-Qaeda has weakened because of the actions taken by Pak istani forces,” Musharraf was quoted by spokesman Rashid Quereshi as telling newspaper editors.
The army said militants attacked one of its convoys 25 miles west of North Waziristan’s main town of Miran Shah with a remote-control bomb, then fired on the surviving soldiers.
Seventeen soldiers were killed and more than a dozen wounded, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said.
The army said several militants were killed in retaliatory fire, and five other militants died in a clash in the town of Mir Ali.
Two local security officials said security forces also shot and killed men in a car after they refused to stop near Miran Shah. Weapons were found in the vehicle, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
