adminSEALs’ operation in Abbottabad city that killed al- Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden which was followed by revenging attacks by Pakistani Taliban, leaving 172 people dead and hundreds of others injured.
On one side Pakistan came under severe international criticism and embarrassment as the American high commands blamed Pakistan of “either involved” in protecting Osama or “incompetent” to know about his presence in the garrison city of Abbottabad, and on the other hand Pakistani Taliban first announced to revenge for Pakistani government and forces’ role in facilitating Americans to kill Osama, and they also materialize their threats offensively.
After the Osama operation, Pakistan’s main focus, to remove the bad impression about its intelligence failure, was quickly shifted to the brazen attacks on the security forces by Taliban militants to take revenge of Osama’s killing despite an official confirmation from the US side that cleared Pakistan’s involvement.
After the death of world’s most wanted man, militant attacks mostly targeted security personnel but two foreign missions also came under attack.
On May 20 Pakistani Taliban targeted US consulate vehicles with a roadside car bomb blast, the first attack on Americans in Pakistan since Osama was killed, in the country’s northwestern provincial capital Peshawar, killing one Pakistani civilian and wounding 11 others, including two U.S. consulate employees.
Just four days before American consulate convoy was attacked, on May 16, a Saudi diplomat was shot dead in southern coastal city Karachi by some armed motorcyclists. The incident was not clearly claimed by any group but some analysts linked it to Taliban and others take it as the result of tension between Sunni and Shia sects in the region.
The attack which shocked Pakistani government, security agencies and public came on Sunday night of May 22 when four militants of Pakistani Taliban, armed with automatic weapons, grenades and rockets, broke into the Pakistan navy air base in Karachi and killed 10 security personnel, leaving 15 others injured.
In this attack militants also succeeded in destroying Pakistani forces’ premier anti-submarine attack jet, the US made P-3C Orion worth 80 million US dollars which was the biggest financial loss that Pakistan suffered ever in one terrorist attack.
Here are the brief details of other brazen militant attacks since Osama was killed on May 2, 2011.- Xinhua.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter