Propaganda Cocktail

In a reversal of current practices, the TTP denied involvement in the Peshawar bombing in letters to the media, claiming, "their main targets are the security forces, and not innocent civilians." Pakistani officials naturally dismissed the TTP's denial as desperation.

Yet the TTP's attacks do vary. Security forces are forming the majority of targets and complex gun assaults distinctly differ from indiscriminate bombings, which bear the signs of Iraq. The TTP, in conjunction with al-Qaeda, could be wielding a two-prong attack; al-Qaeda could also be acting independently, a grim possibility. Or we could be seeing a repeat of the Islamic University attack that was initially denied by the TTP but later claimed by commander Qari Hussein.

Now the TTP is blaming Blackwater, mixing bombs and words to dizzying effect.