Two detained aides of a radical Islamic cleric in Pakistan were killedearly Saturday when a military convoy carrying prisoners hit a roadsidebomb and came under fire in the northwest of the country. The Pakistanimilitary says it is possible the prisoners were the target of theattack.
As soon as news of the attack was reported, there wasspeculation among Pakistan political analysts and reporters that theprisoners - Muhammad Alam and Ameer Izzat - were killed to prevent themfrom being interrogated.
Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told reporters on Saturday he could neither confirm nor deny the speculation.
"Iwon't rule out that, whether they were targeted or killed on purpose. But there could be a possibility of that. But there are a number ofdaily IED [improvised explosive device] incidents in this area, somaybe this was a targeting the military convoy because the signature isvery huge. Where ever the military convoy is moving, the signature ishuge," he said.
Abbas said the prisoners were provided as muchsecurity as possible given the circumstances of the region and theresources of the army.
"We cannot ensure complete security orcomplete protection of the entire area. And we do not have the kind ofequipment which can completely ensure the jamming of the complete areaagainst the IED attacks. So these are common incidents in the area inwhich our soldiers and officers are also losing lives," he said.
Theprisoners were arrested Thursday. Their leader, Sufi Mohammed, was alsoreported to have been detained this week, but the military denied thatreport. Mohammed negotiated the failed agreement with the governmentto impose strict Islamic law in Swat, which was criticized as acapitulation to Pakistan's extremists.
The capture of Alam andIzzat was heralded as good news from Pakistan's security forces, whohave claimed key gains in their month-long effort to eject Talibanmilitants from the region.
But Abbas said that total victoryin Swat could only be declared when top Taliban leaders have beenkilled - something that has not yet happened.