Pakistan a breeding ground for Taliban bombers, says UN

An exclusive UN report says more than 80 percent of suicide bombers in Afghanistan are recruited and trained in Pakistan. It also said the attacks of suicide bombers have increased to record levels in 2007.

Pakistan is US’ biggest coalition partner in the fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda, but it seems it is also the biggest breeding ground for terrorists according to UN. In a 137 page report UN it will release to the public today shows that more than 80 percent of suicide bombers were trained in Pakistan mostly in the Islamic schools and refugee camps. The reports were compiled after they interviewed with the failed attackers, captured militants and security officials. Most of the attackers in Afghanistan are poor, young and uneducated. Recently, the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, broke off a speech after he heard some gun shots near the vicinity. He is also a big target for the Taliban and its suicide bombers. But later the attack turned out to be false alarm; people were throwing stones for not being able to attend this public meeting. The report urges US and other NATO forces to avoid civilian casualties and humiliating property searches and, if possible, to deploy forces from Muslim nations as ways to blunt support for the bombers. This conclusion by the UN will be dismissed by the George W. Bush, but is the truth, the terrorists use the US and NATO presence in their propaganda and urge their followers to become suicide bombers. The US government on the other hand doesn’t want to withdraw and want Taliban to get a foothold there and cause problems for the locals. If there is a Muslim coalition force in Afghanistan, it may mitigate the damages, but so far the other Muslim countries have stayed quiet and uninvolved just like they are doing for Iraq. The UN also said in the Sydney Morning Herald article:

The first line of defense consists of understanding and removing 'root causes' that create demand for terrorism".

Suicide attacks have emerged as a key tactic by the Taliban militants against Karzai’s government and the foreign troops in Afghanistan. So far there have been 103 suicide bombings in 2007, a sixty nine percent increase compared to last year, which will make 2007 as the bloodiest year. The suicide targets have been mostly against military troops or government, but most of the victims have been civilians (80 percent of the 183 victims in 2007) While the targets were exclusively military or government, 80 per cent of the 183 victims until June this year were civilian, the report says. The suicide bombings however has become ineffective, claiming only fewer number of deaths per attack, probably because of frequent monitoring and setting barriers and checkpoints in many places. Most of the attackers are of Afghani origin, but they get recruited and trained in Islamic schools and refugee areas in Pakistan. Christine Fair, a UN official in Kabul who oversaw the report said in the Sydney Morning Herald article:

The cross-border dimension is undeniable; so is the Afghan element. There have been bomb factories here"

One reason the terrorists concentrate on Pakistan, is the proximity to Afghanistan and Iraq, helps them move easily against the porous borders. They also can blend in easily with the natives as most of them speak the local languages fluently.