PAKISTAN'S top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud has reportedly claimed responsibility for the shootings at an US immigration services centre in New York state that killed 13 people.
"I accept the responsibility. They were my men,'' Mr Mehsud told reporters in Peshawar on phone from an undisclosed location.
Mr Mehsud said the massacre was in revenge for the continued US drone attacks on Pakistan's tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The seven semi-autonomous tribal districts are known to serve as sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels. The militant commander added that his men would hit US targets until Washington halted the missile strikes.
A lone killer armed with at least two handguns massacred 13 people at a citizenship centre in New York state before apparently shooting himself, police say. The slayings took place on the main floor of the American Civic Association in Binghamton, 217km northwest of New York city. The gunman, reported by media to be of Vietnamese origin, barricaded a car against the back door of the centre to prevent escape. |