US missile strike kills six in Pakistan
Thursday, 20 November 2008
WAZIRISTAN, (Pakistan), Nov 19 (AFP): A missile fired by a suspected US drone has killed at least six people in north-western Pakistan, security officials say.
The missile destroyed a house in the Bannu district, they said. The dead include two foreigners - a term Pakistani officials use to describe al-Qaeda militants.
In recent weeks, more than 100 people - among them suspected militants and many civilians - have been killed in the tribal areas in attacks by US missiles.
The issue has become extremely sensiti]ve in Pakistan where anti-American sentiment is rising.
Pakistan's government says unilateral American operations undermine its own counter-insurgency strategy.
A local security official told the AFP news agency that Wednesday morning's attack "destroyed the house of a tribesman".
Bannu is near the Afghan border on the edge of the North Waziristan tribal region, a centre of support for pro-Taleban militants.
Correspondents say Pakistan's tribal regions on the Afghan border have usually borne the brunt of suspected US missile attacks, so the strike in Bannu was unusual.
Last Friday, missiles fired by a suspected US drone killed at least eight militants in North Waziristan which is known to be a hub of al-Qaeda and Taleban militants.
The latest attacks have come days after Pakistan's President Asif Zardari's appeal to US President-elect Barack Obama to review the strategy of attacking targets in Pakistan's tribal areas.
"It's undermining my sovereignty and it's not helping win the... hearts and minds of people," Mr Zardari told CBS News.
The US has stepped up missile attacks from drones in the region in recent weeks.
There have been nearly 20 strikes in the past three months and, while US officials say al-Qaeda leaders are being successfully targeted, local tribesmen say scores of civilians have been killed.
The missile destroyed a house in the Bannu district, they said. The dead include two foreigners - a term Pakistani officials use to describe al-Qaeda militants.
In recent weeks, more than 100 people - among them suspected militants and many civilians - have been killed in the tribal areas in attacks by US missiles.
The issue has become extremely sensiti]ve in Pakistan where anti-American sentiment is rising.
Pakistan's government says unilateral American operations undermine its own counter-insurgency strategy.
A local security official told the AFP news agency that Wednesday morning's attack "destroyed the house of a tribesman".
Bannu is near the Afghan border on the edge of the North Waziristan tribal region, a centre of support for pro-Taleban militants.
Correspondents say Pakistan's tribal regions on the Afghan border have usually borne the brunt of suspected US missile attacks, so the strike in Bannu was unusual.
Last Friday, missiles fired by a suspected US drone killed at least eight militants in North Waziristan which is known to be a hub of al-Qaeda and Taleban militants.
The latest attacks have come days after Pakistan's President Asif Zardari's appeal to US President-elect Barack Obama to review the strategy of attacking targets in Pakistan's tribal areas.
"It's undermining my sovereignty and it's not helping win the... hearts and minds of people," Mr Zardari told CBS News.
The US has stepped up missile attacks from drones in the region in recent weeks.
There have been nearly 20 strikes in the past three months and, while US officials say al-Qaeda leaders are being successfully targeted, local tribesmen say scores of civilians have been killed.