Intelligence officials tell the arrested bomber of April 15 attacks has confessed that they were part of a 200-member squad of suicide bombers trained by Badruddin Haqqani in Waziristan. The bombers include Afghan and Pakistani nationals who are on a mission to carry similar operations across Afghanistan before the NATO summit in Chicago in May.
The Taliban also released a video and photos claiming to be the suicide bombers of April 15 attacks. The bombers are young and vow to avenge the burning of Quran copies and recent civilian massacre at Panjwai.
President Karzai had earlier ordered a probe into the intelligence failure. It was a huge blunder and a high-level commission should be established to probe the negligence and failure of NDS. Some heads need to roll and there should be some reshuffling at NDS.
They have started a ridiculous blame game now. Intelligence officials say the security forces had been notified in written about the attacks two weeks ago. They are now saying they had even mentioned the building next to parliament used by the attackers. While the Interior Ministry says the building attacked was not mentioned. It's an ugly way to escape their negligence and utter failure. Heads must roll.
There should be a joint intelligence investigation of the attacks by NATO and Afghan officials. If Haqqani links from Pakistan is proved and they get sufficient proof, this attack should be the last test of patience and Islamabad need to launch a military operation in North Waziristan against the Haqqanis and other insurgent groups involved in Afghanistan.
The US Ambassador Ryan Crocker has already said he believes the Haqqani Network is behind the attacks, while Pentagon says they strongly doubt the links go to Haqqanis in Pakistan. Ambassador Crocker also demanded Pakistan to clamp down on the militants in North Waziristan. He said the leaders of the group are in Miram Shah and he called the Haqqanis a threat to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US.
Once the investigations are complete, Afghan and the US leaders should seriously demand Islamabad for action against Haqqanis. The militants will never been weakened until the safe havens in Waziristan and other tribal areas of Pakistan continue to provide them sanctuary and training ground. Afghan and NATO intelligence officials have long been accusing Pakistani military of supporting the Haqqanis covertly. If the US is serious about turning the war in Afghanistan into victory, the militant hideouts and training centers in Pakistan need to be stopped.