Two soldiers killed and three injured in first suicide attack in Pakistan occupied Kashmir

Source: Dawn; Daily Times; The News, June 27, 2009

A Taliban suicide bomber killed two soldiers on June 26, 2009 when he blew himself up near an army vehicle in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), in the first such attack in PoK. The military said in a statement that three other soldiers were injured in the early morning bombing in Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK, and rushed to a nearby hospital. Hakimullah Mehsud, a deputy of the Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, told AP that the assault was launched to prove that Baitullah had not been weakened by more than a week of strikes on his suspected hideouts in South Waziristan Agency. "We are in a position to respond to the army’s attacks, and time will prove that these military operations have not weakened us," Hakimullah said over telephone.
A Police officer said the army installation had probably been attacked to give a message to the authorities that militants could expand their area of operation and hit security forces anywhere, including PoK. The barracks fall under the 5-AK Brigade of the Azad Kashmir (AK) Regiment which is reportedly taking part in the operation against militants in Swat and adjoining areas