Ten killed as missile hits Pak militant camp
Saturday, 3 November 2007
MIRANSHAH (Pakistan), Nov 2 (AFP): A missile strike on a pro-Taliban militant camp in Pakistan's tribal belt killed 10 people Friday, as rebels in another area paraded 48 men said to be troops captured during fierce clashes.
The unrest heightens pressure on President Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally in the 'war on terror,' to tackle Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents cementing their grip over northwestern Pakistan and its troubled tribal belt.
Musharraf held talks with visiting US Central Command chief Admiral William Fallon in Islamabad on Friday at about the same time as the missile attack in the Islamist stronghold of North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.
Residents said drones flew over the village of Danday Darpakhel before two missiles hit, one of which destroyed a house formerly owned by Mullah Dadullah, the late Taliban military commander killed in Afghanistan in May 2007.
Local sources said at least 10 militants were killed and 11 others wounded in Friday's blast. Two foreigners -- usually associated with Al-Qaeda in the tribal regions -- were among the dead, they said, quoting injured rebels.
They said the house was used as a training camp by insurgents loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan-based Taliban militants who have been blamed for a string of suicide attacks that have killed 400 people since July.
In the latest incident a bomber struck an air force bus on Thursday, killing eight people, while a twin suicide attack on former premier Benazir Bhutto's homecoming on October 18 killed 139 people.
The unrest heightens pressure on President Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally in the 'war on terror,' to tackle Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents cementing their grip over northwestern Pakistan and its troubled tribal belt.
Musharraf held talks with visiting US Central Command chief Admiral William Fallon in Islamabad on Friday at about the same time as the missile attack in the Islamist stronghold of North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.
Residents said drones flew over the village of Danday Darpakhel before two missiles hit, one of which destroyed a house formerly owned by Mullah Dadullah, the late Taliban military commander killed in Afghanistan in May 2007.
Local sources said at least 10 militants were killed and 11 others wounded in Friday's blast. Two foreigners -- usually associated with Al-Qaeda in the tribal regions -- were among the dead, they said, quoting injured rebels.
They said the house was used as a training camp by insurgents loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan-based Taliban militants who have been blamed for a string of suicide attacks that have killed 400 people since July.
In the latest incident a bomber struck an air force bus on Thursday, killing eight people, while a twin suicide attack on former premier Benazir Bhutto's homecoming on October 18 killed 139 people.