Posted on 01/29/2008 7:45:06 AM PST by Dog
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) Twelve suspected militants were killed by a missile strike in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt, hours after gunmen held 300 children hostage at a nearby school, officials said Tuesday.
Separately a Pakistani soldier was killed and five others injured in the latest clashes between security forces and Islamist insurgents in the lawless borderlands with Afghanistan, the army said.
The missile hit a house on Monday night in the North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan, where thousands of Pakistani troops are battling Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked fighters.
Intelligence officials said the dead were pro-Taliban militants, but residents said they were tribesmen staying at the house of a local elder in Khushali Tari Khel, a village on the outskirts of the town of Mir Ali.
"A missile came from an unknown direction on Monday night and hit the house, after which 12 people have died," a local administration official told AFP.
The Pakistani army was not immediately available for comment.
"The identities of the dead are not ascertained but we had reports that suspected them of being linked to the Taliban," an intelligence official said.
It was not clear who fired the missile but several previous attacks in the area have been attributed to US-led coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan.
Islamabad is loath to admit any US military action on its territory, given that President Pervez Musharraf has repeatedly rejected US offers for joint operations in Pakistan's troubled borderlands.
Washington and other western allies are increasingly concerned by unrest and extremist violence in Pakistan following the assassination last month of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Musharraf said during a visit to London on Monday that a tough stance on extremism was necessary because of incidents like the mass hostage-taking at a school near the northwestern city of Bannu that same day.
The incident ended peacefully late Monday when the gunmen released their captives from the school and fled into North Waziristan, the border of which is only about five kilometres (three miles) away.
Officials did not say if there was any connection between the missile strike and the school siege.
Missile attacks have claimed the lives of several militants in Pakistan. A US Predator drone targeted Al-Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in January 2006, killing several rebels but missing him.
In December 2005, Egyptian Al-Qaeda explosives specialist Hamza Rabia was killed in a blast in North Waziristan. Residents said it was a missile strike but the military insisted he was killed by one of his own bombs.
Meanwhile in the neighbouring tribal region of South Waziristan, the army said a soldier was killed in heavy fighting at Shishamwan village early Tuesday.
Militant casualties "could not be ascertained," an army statement said.
Clashes in the same region on Monday also claimed the life of a soldier.
South Waziristan is the stronghold of shadowy tribal warlord Baitullah Mehsud, who has been accused by Pakistan and the US Central Intelligence Agency of masterminding Bhutto's assassination on December 27.
He denies any involvement.
Officials also said that five soldiers were wounded in rocket attacks in North Waziristan overnight.
Here we go...strap in and enjoy the ride.
About damned time. This is going to get ugly, but waiting isn’t going to make it any better.
Dog, call me naive. What are the implications of this attack?
implications are, more street sweeping of verminous body parts.
Someone had intel that a person of interest was in this house....and decided to lob a missile at the person of interest.
It also points to a more hands on approach by someone.
Good. Always ready to get rid of the vermin.
Thanks. Always ready for some good news.
I love it!
LOL! Coming a few days after Musharraf's loud, public "refusal" to allow American access to the border regions. Almost certainly that was a cover story.
Ho boy.
JMHO, but smells like “somebody” just nailed a target with a Predator/JDAM/AGM-something-or-other.
If the report had come out with a number of women and children among the dead, the actual count would have included high-ranking AlQ, so guess we only got a couple squads of grunts.
Every little bit helps.
Yep. Here’s a related thread of a new US Base just opening for business 3 clicks from the border. Coincidence?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1961312/posts
Sleep well, islamist vermin.
Good shootin’ boys.
“A missile came from an unknown direction”
I bet it came from above. LOL
And the MSM wants us to think that those two statements are contradictory.
>>>>>>>It also points to a more hands on approach by someone.
In recent weeks the public proposals have been made by us to enter Waz, and Moosh has been protesting waayyyy too much.
Those data points confirm for me that “someone” is operating in Waz.
Yeah, blind women and children there to attend a wedding. We know the drill.
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