Pak Taliban blow up radio station, loot equipment

Taliban fighters stormed the radio station in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan Agency. It took away all the equipment before blowing up the building with explosives

The Pakistani Taliban have blown up a state-run radio station in the northwestern tribal belt and taken away all its equipment.

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Taliban fighters stormed the radio station in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan Agency, early on Friday morning. They broke its doors and took away all the equipment before blowing up the building with explosives, officials said.

The Taliban also blew up a check post of the security forces that was recently built near the radio station. No one was injured as the radio station and the check post were empty at the time of the attack.

Radio transmission in the area was suspended after the attack, local residents said.

Local residents said this was the third attack on the radio station in Wana. The facility was first attacked in 2004 shortly after transmission was launched from the station. The station was attacked again in 2006, suspending transmission for a few weeks.

The radio station was transmitting six-and-half hours of programming in the local Pashto language. This included sports and news about regional developments.

The station had stopped beaming news and music programmes two years ago after receiving threats from the Taliban.