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Pakistan attack on 'militant chief' Nabi Hanafi kills many Pakistan attack on 'militant chief' Nabi Hanafi kills many
(about 4 hours later)
At least 12 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a militant commander's compound in a north-west Pakistani tribal region, officials say. At least 15 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a militant commander's compound in a north-west Pakistani tribal region, officials say.
Reports said the commander, Nabi Hanafi, had been fighting a branch of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). It is unclear if he is among the dead. Reports said the commander, Nabi Hanafi, had been fighting a branch of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). Some reports say that he has been injured.
The Taliban have said they were behind the attack in the remote Spin Thal area of North Waziristan.The Taliban have said they were behind the attack in the remote Spin Thal area of North Waziristan.
Officials said a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into the compound. Last year a TTP suicide attack hit the same compound, killing 18 people.
Several other people were injured in the attack. Mullah Hanafi is from Orakzai tribal area. The semi-autonomous tribal areas bordering Afghanistan are a stronghold for Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants. Officials said that in Thursday's attack a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into the compound.
It is still not clear if Mullah Hanafi was hit in the attack, or whether he was even in the compound when the bomb went off. Several other people were injured in the attack.
Local government administrator Wajid Khan told the Associated Press that Hanafi had been off base at the time of the attack. Security officials have said that Nabi Hanafi was injured in the attack and taken to hospital, the Reuters news agency reported.
Division over talks But other reports say it is still not clear if he was injured or if he was even in the compound when the bomb went off.
Nabi Hanafi had once been associated with the Pakistani Taliban but later switched sides and began to fight them with his own militia. Witnesses told the BBC that the attack took place early on Thursday morning. There was an exchange of gunfire after which the attackers rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the compound.
There are reports that the Pakistani government had provided some support to his group as part of its strategy of trying to counter the threat posed by the TTP. Most of the dead and injured belong to Mullah Hanafi's group, they said, but there were also some civilians among the casualties. A woman and a child were injured.
Two suicide bombers who tried to launch a second attack were killed in a shoot-out by Mullah Hanafi's men, security force sources told Reuters.
A number of houses in surrounding areas were damaged by the explosion and soldiers from the nearby garrison town of Tull cordoned off the area.
Police told the Dawn newspaper that Mullah Hanafi's compound was destroyed by a "huge explosion".
Mullah Hanafi is from the Orakzai tribal area, part of the semi-autonomous tribal areas bordering Afghanistan which are a stronghold for Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants.
He was once closely associated with the TTP - widely seen as a veteran Taliban operative - but switched sides in early 2008 to fight them with his own militia.
He is thought to have been angered over the decision of former TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud to appoint Hakimullah Mehsud as the organisation's head in Orakzai.
After the rift, Mullah Hanafi set up his base in the Spin Thal area.
There have been frequent clashes between his men and TTP operatives in which more than 40 people have died so far.
The Pakistani government is reported to have provided some support to his group as part of its strategy of trying to counter the threat posed by the TTP.
The attack comes against a backdrop of apparent rifts within the ranks of the Pakistani Taliban over an offer of talks by new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.The attack comes against a backdrop of apparent rifts within the ranks of the Pakistani Taliban over an offer of talks by new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
There are dozens of militant groups operating under the banner of the TTP.There are dozens of militant groups operating under the banner of the TTP.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says that the latest violence may be the result of an ongoing feud between the TTP's Mehsud leadership and some non-Mehsud warlords whose areas the TTP have tried to bring under their direct control.
All have sanctuaries in the tribal areas near Peshawar in the north-west - some favour talks, while others do not, correspondents say.All have sanctuaries in the tribal areas near Peshawar in the north-west - some favour talks, while others do not, correspondents say.
Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been hit by a series of recent bomb attacks, some claimed by - others blamed on - Taliban insurgents.Peshawar, the main city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been hit by a series of recent bomb attacks, some claimed by - others blamed on - Taliban insurgents.