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2008 K2 and Broad Peak Expedition

Dispatch Seven: June 5th, 2008

Day Seven: Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Blast

Today was yet another unbearably hot day in Islamabad, making virtually any activity outdoors impossible. So, instead of a normal dispatch, I am going to relay some news about the June 2nd bomb blast to all of you.

'Al-Qaeda' claims embassy blast

 

Aljazeera - Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad which left at least six people dead, according to an internet site purporting to represent the network. According to a statement on the site on Wednesday, the attack in the Pakistan capital two days earlier was a reprisal against the republication in Danish newspapers of cartoons insulting the prophet Mohammed. "One of the heroes of 'Qaedat al-Jihad' carried out a suicide operation on the morning of Monday," said the statement, signed by Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, one of Al-Qaeda's leaders.

 

'Infidel state'

 

The attack was "in revenge against the state of infidelity, called 'Denmark', that posted cartoons hostile to the messenger of Allah," the statement read, according to an English translation provided by Site, a US-based group which monitors Islamic militant internet websites and chat rooms."This operation is a warning to the infidel state and those who ride with it, so that they are deterred from their sin ... and so that they apologize for what they did," Yazid added. Site said the message was posted across several forums.

Danish intelligence officials said earlier on Wednesday that the attack had been meticulously planned for a "long time and with precision"

Denmark's secret services have sent three experts to Islamabad as part of their investigation.

 

Victims of attack

  
One Danish citizen of Pakistani origin and two Pakistani employees were among the dead in the blast that badly damaged the embassy and the offices of a UN-backed aid agency.
  
Al-Qaeda called for attacks on Danish targets after Danish newspapers ran caricatures of the prophet Mohammed. Danish newspapers first published the controversial cartoons in 2005, sparking violent protests in Pakistan and other Muslim countries.

 

Several dailies reprinted the sketches in February this year. Yazid said al-Qaeda congratulated "the Pakistani mujahideen ... the pioneers of the religious fervor and Islamic zeal, who participated" in the attack.