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| India-Pakistan |
| Suspected U.S. drone hits militant nest in Pakistan |
| 2009-02-16 |
| PARACHINAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – At least a dozen people were killed in Pakistan's Kurram tribal region on the Afghan border on Monday when a suspected U.S. drone fired missiles at a building used by militants, witnesses and officials said. "Afghan Taliban were holding an important meeting there when the missiles were fired," an intelligence official in the area said of the attack in a mountainous region called Sarpul, on the outskirts of Baggan village. The attack was the first in the Kurram tribal region and came two days after a missile strike in the South Waziristan tribal region killed at least 25 mostly Central Asian fighters believed to have al Qaeda-links. Abdul Rahim, a cleric in Sarpul, said he saw around 15 bodies pulled out from the rubble and 20 wounded, though there was no other corroboration immediately available and Taliban militants surrounded the area. He said he saw two missiles fired. Kurram's top administrator, Arshad Majeed Mohmand, confirmed the strike and said according to his information three missiles were fired, but he had no details about the casualties. It was not immediately known if there were any senior Taliban or al Qaeda figures among the dead. The building that was hit was formerly used by Afghan refugees' children, but militants moved in around two years ago, according to villagers. "A drone is still flying in the area and smoke can be seen over the area where the missiles struck," said a paramilitary official, also requesting anonymity. This was the fourth attack since U.S. President Barack Obama took office last month, showing there was no change in policy since the last year of the Bush administration, when attacks by pilotless aircraft against militant targets on Pakistani territory were ramped up. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #3 Hellfires for HOPE! And CHANGE! |
| Posted by: A_Rovian_Desciple 2009-02-16 20:46 |
| #2 Islamabad - A suspected US missile strike in Pakistan's north-western tribal region near the Afghan border left 30 people, most of them Afghan Taliban, dead, an intelligence official said Monday. The attack was believed to be carried out by US unmanned aircraft that targeted a suspected militant hideout in Sadda area of Kurram tribal district. Four missiles destroyed a huge mud compound that is being used by Taliban as a training camp, according to a local intelligence official. "Our informants told us that around 30 people were killed and around two dozens of them were Afghan Taliban," the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that a dozen militants were wounded. The camp, located just 15 kilometres from the Afghan province of Khost, was established in the 1980s when locals on the both sides of the border were resisting Soviet Union's occupation forces in Afghanistan. "The camp has now turned into a training centre for those who are resisting new occupation forces (United States and allies) in Afghanistan," the intelligence official said. Monday's attack is the first US drone strike on Kurram, a relatively calmer district in Pakistan's tribal region that was previously known for sectarian violence between rival Sunni and Shiite Muslims. American forces, which are running out of patience over Pakistan's failure in eliminating the sanctuaries of al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters launching cross border attacks in Afghanistan, have intensified strikes on rebels' hideouts on its soil. The fresh air raid came two days after a similar aerial strike on a building in South Waziristan tribal district killed at least 30 people, including some key allies of top militant commander, Baitullah Mehsud. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-02-16 13:17 |
| #1 why not hit these sites again when all their buddies show up too help? |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-02-16 10:20 |