Pakistan tribes burning out Taliban houses

Reuters:

Angry Pakistani tribesmen traded fire with Taliban militants and demolished their houses in a northwestern tribal region after a car suicide attack killed at least 40 people, residents and officials said on Saturday.

Television channels put the death toll at as high as 70.

The bomber drove his explosive-laden car into the middle of a tribal council meeting in Orakzai tribal region on Friday where hundreds of tribesmen were discussing a government-backed plan to raise a lashkar or tribal militia to evict militants.

Pakistan's tribal areas on the Afghan border are regarded as safe havens for al Qaeda and Taliban militants, and the government is under tremendous pressure from the United States to take stern action to stem the flow of insurgents to Afghanistan.

"Everyone is angry and upset here. The tribesmen attacked houses of the Taliban in Khadizai after the bombing. Two houses have been demolished," Noorzad Orakzai, a resident of the Khadizai area where attack took place, told Reuters by telephone.

"There have been exchanges of fire throughout the night. It's still going on," he added.

Jehanzeb Siddique, a senior government official dealing with tribal areas, told Reuters that they had confirmation of 40 deaths from the car bombing.

Other officials said the death toll could rise further as many of the nearly 100 wounded people were in critical condition while several bodies were still unidentified.

The attack in Orakzai came a day after a suicide blast inside the heavily guarded police headquarters in the capital Islamabad in which eight policemen were wounded.

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This could be a turning point against the Taliban similar to the Anbar Awakening in Iraq. The Taliban attack on the meeting of tribal leaders has angered the groups on whom they must depend. The attacks on the Taliban houses could be just the beginning. It would not surprise me to see greater cooperation with Pakistan and US authorities pursuing Taliban leaders and fighters as well as their Arab allies.