Pakistan says militants exploiting flood chaos
Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan —
Islamic militants are exploiting the strain this summer’s monsoon floods placed on the military and government by regrouping their forces in northwest Pakistan, provincial officials warned Thursday.
Sen. John Kerry, who is in Islamabad, also expressed concern about a strengthening insurgency as he announced that the United States would ramp up its flood relief package to $150 million.
As the crisis nears its fourth week, officials in Islamabad and Washington are increasingly worried that Taliban militants and other Islamic extremist groups will take advantage of a disaster that has forced 60,000 Pakistani troops into flood relief work and diverted police resources across the country.
