KABUL, Nov. 19 -- A suspected U.S. The airstrike in the district of Bannu in the North-West Frontier Province appears to be the first such attack outside Pakistan's tribal areas. It came as the country's top military officer met with NATO officials in Brussels to discuss the cross-border missile strikes, which have been increasingly frequent in recent months and which the United States considers necessary for combating al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The attacks have stoked tensions in Pakistan and drawn public rebukes from the government.
An unmanned U.S. Predator drone fired at least two missiles early Wednesday morning at a house near North Waziristan, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal territories that line Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. A Pakistani security official said the six who were killed were believed to be foreigners with suspected links to al-Qaeda.
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Shortly after Wednesday's strike, Quazi Hussain Ahmad, head of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, vowed to block a vital NATO supply route if the U.S. attacks continue, the Associated Press reported.
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