The reign of terror unleashed by Taliban on innocent citzens goes on.
Bombs in Pakistan’s Peshawar kill six
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Two bombs exploded on Thursday in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killing six people and gunmen on rooftops ambushed police as they arrived at the scene, officials and witnesses said.
The blasts came a day after a suicide gun and bomb attack in the eastern city of Lahore killed 24 people and wounded nearly 300.
The Pakistani [Taliban](http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/taliban) claimed responsibility for the Lahore bomb, saying it was in revenge for an army offensive in the Swat region, and threatened more violence.
Militant violence in nuclear-armed Pakistan has surged since mid-2007, with numerous attacks on the security forces, as well as on government and Western targets.
The bombs went off in a crowded market area of Peshawar's old city and caused extensive damage.
Six people were killed and about 70 wounded, provincial government minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour told Reuters.
Soon after the blasts, gunmen began firing at police in the area's narrow lanes.
**"There are about five gunmen who have taken positions on buildings and an exchange of fire is going on between them and police," said witness Munawar Khan. Television showed pictures of policemen firing their rifles while colleagues strapped on bullet-proof vests.**
MUMBAI ATTACKS
The attack appeared to be the latest in a recent string of more sophisticated militant attacks in Pakistan since a group of gunmen launched a coordinated assault on the Indian financial hub of Mumbai in November.
On Wednesday, gunmen carried out a suicide gun and bomb attack in the city of Lahore killing 24 people and wounding nearly 300.
The Pakistani [Taliban](http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/taliban) earlier claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it was in revenge for an army offensive in the Swat region.
"We have achieved our target. We were looking for this target for a long time. It was a reaction to the Swat operation," said Hakimullah Mehsud, a militant commander loyal to Pakistani [Taliban](http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/taliban) leader Baitullah Mehsud.
The army moved against the Taliban in their Swat valley stronghold late last month after the militants had seized a district only 100 km (60 miles) from the capital and a peace pact collapsed.
“We want the people of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Multan to leave those cities as we plan major attacks against government facilities in coming days and weeks,” he told Reuters by telephone.
The military released late on Wednesday what it said was a tape of an intercepted telephone call between the Taliban spokesman in Swat, Muslim Khan, and an unidentified militant in which Khan urges revenge attacks.
“There’s a need for them to strike soldiers in Punjab so that they can understand and feel pain,” Khan says on the tape, broadcast on Pakistani television.
“Strikes should be carried out on their homes so their kids get killed and then they’ll realize,” he said.
The unidentified man said militants had been ordered to strike wherever they could.
The government has vowed to defeat the Taliban and on Thursday it published an offer of a reward of 5 million rupees ($60,000) for the capture, dead or alive, of the Taliban leader in Swat, Fazlullah, and smaller bounties for 20 of his comrades.
The military says about 1,100 militants and about 60 soldiers have been killed in the fighting in the Swat region. There has been no independent confirmation of those estimates.
The offensive has sparked an exodus of 2.3 million people, according to provincial government figures, and the country faces a long-term humanitarian crisis which could also undermine public support for the fight against the Taliban.
Bombs in Pakistan’s Peshawar kill six | International | Reuters
