TALIBAN CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAKISTAN BLASTS

In the wake of Musahrraf's resignation, the Taliban are making a play for control of Pakistan, and ultimately, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. From the Washington Post:

WAH, Pakistan, Aug. 21 -- At least 60 people were killed and 100 injured in coordinated suicide bombings on the country's largest army munitions factory here Thursday, the latest in a series of Taliban attacks against Pakistani government targets. The Pakistani branch of the Taliban quickly asserted responsibility for the attack at the heavily guarded facility. The first blast occurred about 2:30 p.m. when two suicide bombers walked up to the main gate of the Pakistan Ordnance Factory and detonated vests loaded with explosives. A second explosion ripped through another gate minutes later when a third suicide bomber approached on foot, witnesses said. Nasir Durrani, regional police chief of the Rawalpindi police district, said most of those killed were civilians who worked in the factory. Durrani said the suicide bombers approached the gates during a shift change, then detonated their bombs amid the crowd.

Amir Shah said he heard two huge blasts and ran toward the main gate of the factory. When he arrived, he saw the bodies of the two suicide bombers, burned beyond recognition. "The security situation here is very bad today," he said. "It is supposed to be a very highly protected area because of its sensitive nature, so I don't know what happened." The blasts left heaps of debris and body parts near the gates of the factory, but the building was more or less unharmed. Police and army officials swarmed the area after the bombing, and several investigators searched the area with bomb-sniffing dogs after a vest laden with explosives was found near one of the gates. Dozens of the wounded were rushed to the main hospital, but the overwhelming number of casualties forced officials to begin directing ambulances to hospitals in the nearby city of Rawalpindi. Authorities said several people injured in the explosions were in critical condition and that the death toll was expected to rise.

The attack, one of the largest to strike near the capital of Islamabad within the past year, dealt a strategic blow to the Pakistani military at a time when it is struggling to contain the threat from an increasingly powerful Islamist insurgency.

The bombing at the munitions factory came as leaders of the Pakistani Taliban vowed to step up attacks on military facilities across the country in retaliation for military operations in the country's troubled tribal areas. Maulvi Omar, a spokesman for the group, asserted responsibility for Thursday's attacks.

The twin blasts marked the second major attack on a military target in Pakistan in the past two weeks. Last week, at least 17 people were killed and several injured when a bus carrying Pakistani air force troops struck a roadside bomb near the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Pakistani security forces launched operations in the Bajaur tribal area about three weeks ago in an effort to quell an Islamist insurgency in the region. The fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people from the remote, mountainous tribal area in recent weeks. On Thursday, military officials said they expect more people to be displaced as operations in the nearby tribal area of Kurram get underway. More than two dozen people have been killed in clashes between rival tribes there over the last two days.

Military operations in the tribal areas come amid renewed pressure from the United States to quell a rising insurgency inside Pakistan near the Afghan border. The insurgency includes elements of the Taliban and al-Qaeda but has also been fueled by rivalries among local groups and tribes. Thursday's violence also comes at a time of political upheaval as the country's coalition government debates its future after the resignation this week of President Pervez Musharraf. Top members of the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-N faction appear to be at loggerheads over reinstatement of about 60 judges deposed under Musharraf's border last year. Coalition leaders are expected to meet in Islamabad again Friday to discuss the issue.

RELIAPUNDIT ADDS: THESE ARE THE FRUITS OF APPEASEMENT: WHEN THE ENEMY SEES THAT IT IS REWARDED FOR ITS VIOLENCE, THEN THEY INCREASE THEIR VIOLENCE.

THE ENEMY IN THIS CASE SEES THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO GET MUSHARRAF OUSTED SO THEY ARE STEPPING UP THE HEAT.

THERE'S A LESSON IN THIS FOR EVERYONE.