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Suspected US missile strike kills nine in Pakistan: officials
Miranshah, Pakistan (AFP) Oct 9, 2008 A suspected US missile strike on a house in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan killed nine people including six Arab militants on Thursday, security officials said. Two missiles hit the building in Tapi, a village in troubled North Waziristan district, an official based in the region told AFP on condition of anonymity. The attack targeted the house of a local Taliban commander named Hafiz Sahar Gul, another security official based in Islamabad said. "The missile attack killed three of Gul's family members and six Arab guests," the official said, adding the Arabs were believed to be militants. There was no immediate confirmation from the Pakistani military or from the US-led coalition in Afghanistan. The incident in the lawless district, a known haunt of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, is the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani soil that have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington. Last week around 20 Al-Qaeda-linked militants, mostly foreign nationals, were killed in a suspected US missile strike in Mohammad Khel village in North Waziristan, Pakistani security officials said. Missile strikes targeting militants in Pakistan in recent weeks have been blamed on US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan. Pakistan does not have missile-equipped drones. The United States has stepped up attacks on militants in Pakistani territory since a new civilian government came to power in Islamabad in March, and the incidents have become an issue in the US presidential election. Relations have also been strained by a raid by US special operations forces into Pakistan on September 3 which killed several Pakistanis. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed zero tolerance against violations of his country's sovereignty amid stepped up US missile strikes. US and Afghan officials say Pakistan's tribal areas are a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who sneaked into the rugged terrain after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001. Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, are widely believed to be hiding in the mountainous region. Related Links News From Across The Stans
French army chief rules out military victory in Afghanistan
Paris (AFP) Oct 8, 2008The head of the French military General Jean-Louis Georgelin on Wednesday backed comments by a senior British military officer's view that the war in Afghanistan was unwinnable. |
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