Posted on 02/29/2008 5:24:28 AM PST by Dog
PESHAWAR - At least 13 militants, including some foreigners, were killed and 11 others were critically injured as three missiles, allegedly fired by the US forces, hit a house in Kaloshah area of Wana District in South Waziristan Agency on Thursday, eyewitnesses said. Immediately after the attack, the militants encircled the area and local people were barred from entering the site. However, the locals informed that three missiles fired from an unknown direction hit the house of Malik Khel Wazir at Shero Village, Kaloshah Azam Warsak area at midnight, killing at least 12 people, mostly foreigners, and injuring 11 others critically. Several rooms of the house were completely destroyed in the attacks. Exact identity and strength of the foreigners killed in the incident has not yet been determined, but the locals informed that they were either from Arab countries or Central Asia. An Al-Qaeda fugitive from Egypt is also reported to be among them. However, the officials claimed that there was a seminary near the house, which was used by the militants as a shelter. The killed persons were buried in the area, while the injured were admitted to local and Wana hospitals. It is highly believed that the US forces, either from Afghanistan side or from Arabian Sea, fired the missiles. It merits mentioning that this is the second attack of its kind in a month. Earlier, a missile hit a hideout at Mir Ali town, killing 12 people including top Al-Qaeda commander Abu Laith Al Laibi, on January 29. AFP adds: A suspected US missile strike destroyed an Al-Qaeda and Taliban hideout in the country’s tribal area Thursday, killing 13 alleged militants including several Arabs, security officials said. Residents of Azam Warsak village in South Waziristan told AFP that a house was blown up by a missile fired from a pilotless drone and the loud blast was heard kilometres away in the rugged valley. US drones have launched several strikes on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border targeting members of Osama bin Laden’s network, although Islamabad never confirms such attacks due to issues of national sovereignty. “A house used as a den by Al-Qaeda and Afghan Taliban militants was hit by a missile. Thirteen people were killed and around 10 were wounded,” a senior Pakistani security official told AFP. “There was no immediate information about the presence of any high-value target,” the official said. A security source based in Peshawar said the missile was fired by a US drone at about 2:00 am Thursday. The militants were using the house as an “operational base” for attacks on NATO-led and US troops in Afghanistan, as well as a meeting place for Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, the official said. A spokesman for the US-led coalition force based in Afghanistan said it had “no reports” that either it or the separate NATO-headed force were involved in the strike. Chief military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas told AFP that information from the area indicated that the deaths were caused by explosive material stored in a house. “As per our information it was an explosion caused by explosive material in a house,” Abbas said, adding that the blast reportedly killed 10 to 12 people. All of their nationalities were not known, he said.
Egyptian al Qaeda known to be operating in Pakistan’s tribal regions:
• Abu Khabab al Masri: Al Qaeda's Weapons of Mass Destruction expert and master bomb maker. He is also known as Also known as Midhat Mursi.
• Abdul Rahman al Masri al Maghribi: A senior al Qaeda military commander who is also believed to be Ayman al Zawahiri's son-in-law.
• Abu Ubaidah al Masri: A senior al Qaeda operative who served as the former operations chief in Kunar, Afghanistan.
• Sheikh Essa: An Egyptian cleric based out of North Waziristan who advocates expanding the Taliban's jihad in Pakistan. "Local adherents of the takfiri ideology, like Sadiq Noor and Abdul Khaliq, have grown strong and spread the word in North Waziristan." the Asia Times reported on Jan. 1. "Former members of jihadi outfits such as Jaish-i-Mohammed, Laskhar-i-Taiba and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi have gathered in North Waziristan and declared Sheikh Essa their ideologue."
Sorry it didn’t format correctly....I know paragraphs are our friends...:-)
Great news any way you cut it.
Zawahari is also from Egypt.
Looks like the bounty system is yielding results.
Good shooting US Navy! (or whoever...)
I know...but I didn’t want to get everyones hopes up again...lets be surprised...:-)
“US drones have launched several strikes on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border targeting members of Osama bin Laden’s network, although Islamabad never confirms such attacks due to issues of national sovereignty.”
I just love that these backwards 6th century Muslim animals are being picked off by 21st century technology that they would have no hope of defending themselves against.
After getting Al Libi and this strike it looks like the intell on the ground is improving which is great. Guess we will have to see who we got this time,but obviously the target was top level Al Queda guys.
One of the rumored hits besides Al Libi last time was that Adam Ghadan was in that area and the Californian had not appeared in any videos since...so here’s hoping!
Paragraps aside, this is a very interesting post.
The tide in Pakistan may have turned.
Good Post any way.
Its gotta mess with their heads.
little bit more here...
http://www.alalam.ir/english/en-NewsPage.asp?newsid=032030120080228115836
btw - Did I miss something? Has the MSM reported the importance of getting al-Libi ?
“However, the officials claimed that there was a seminary near the house, which was used by the militants as a shelter.”
When are these people(religious (sp?))going to learn that you DON’T give permission for a bunch of radical/nutjobs to hideout/use your “seminary/orphanage/church/etc”? I’m sorry, but you’d think they’d learned by now....PC be d+@*$%! if you find their rathole, you take it out, end of discussion.
Their own fault for doing this, you reap what you sow.....
Yeah, maybe those weren’t American missiles, or Pakistani, or any other HUMAN creation. Death rained down on them from...up there...hmmm...could it be...a sign?
“Has the MSM reported the importance of getting al-Libi ?”
Silly me. It killed the MSM to have to report on the death of Mugnieh - they kept the significance of that to a minimum. So, al Libi? .... nothing to see here, move along
Good news in the morning! Brightens my day.
Or that al-Q is wearing out their welcome in Pak about as fast as they wore it out in Iraq
For us to hit them, we had to have somebody on the ground feeding us good intel, somebody who disliked them enough to risk his life (money only does any good if you're alive to spend it)
That’s the one I’m hoping for. But any of the others will look good in the ‘win’ column.
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