Lahore suffered one of deadliest attacks on Easter Sunday 2016 — a suicide bomb in a park that killed more than 70 people, including many children, and was claimed by the Jamaat ul Ahrar faction of the Taliban.
Noreen Leghari, who was a privileged second-year medical student, planned to execute another deadly jihad attack — a suicide bombing “mission” — in the name of her religion, as she pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Jihadist religious zeal is a powerful potion, yet it remains unrecognized by mainstream Western analysts, despite the tally of victims.
“Female suicide bomber planned thwarted Easter attack: army”, by Afshan Zahra, AAJ.tv, April 18, 2017:
ISLAMABAD: A female would-be suicide bomber who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group had planned to carry out an attack on a church in Lahore on Easter Sunday, a military spokesman said Monday.
Noreen Leghari, a second year medical student, is in army custody after being captured during a raid overnight Friday that left four soldiers wounded and her male accomplice dead, army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told reporters.
A filmed confession was later shown to reporters in which Leghari, dressed in a veil, said: “We were provided equipment on April 1, including two suicide vests, four hand grenades and bullets.
“We were told to use these jackets to attack a church on Easter and I was supposed to be used as a suicide bomber.”
Lahore suffered one of deadliest attacks on Easter Sunday 2016 — a suicide bomb in a park that killed more than 70 people, including many children, and was claimed by the Jamaat ul Ahrar faction of the Taliban.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks this year that have dented optimism after the country appeared to be making strong gains in its decade-and-a-half long war on militancy.
But Ghafoor said that since launching a new nationwide military operation in February, the army had killed some 108 militants while 558 had been captured or surrendered — including Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesman of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
“The former spokesman of Jamaat ul Ahrar and the Pakistani Taliban Ehsanullah Ehsan has surrendered himself to security forces. He’s not the only one….