Yesterday’s Swat Valley roadside bombing, which killed three US soldiers and put the tiny American military presence in Pakistan under an uncomfortable spotlight, has spawned new questions as police investigate.
Police say they have arrested some 35 “suspects” in connection with the bombing, and are looking into the possibility that the attackers may have been tipped off about the presence of American military personnel at the school.
When the local Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took credit for the attack, they said the US troops were the target. Yet the presence of the American troops was not supposed to be public knowledge, the Frontier Corps claimed that the troops were “journalists” until after the bombing.
Local witnesses suggest that the convoy was deliberately targeted, and the possibility that the bombing was an “inside job” has not been ruled out. With locals asking why the US “trainers” were there in the first place, the incident is leading to a lot of uncomfortable questions about security forces in the border areas.