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US missile strikes kill 17
AT least 17 people have been killed after suspected US missile strikes hit a Taliban base in Pakistan's northwest, pounding militants gathering for funeral prayers The first reported strike by an unmanned drone aircraft hit near Makeen village, 60km northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan and a stronghold of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. "A missile attack by a suspected US drone took place in rugged mountainous terrain in Neej Narai in South Waziristan," said a Pakistani security official who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media. He said the first drone fired three missiles overnight, adding that "six militants were killed and seven others wounded in the attack". Another security official confirmed the incident and casualties, saying that the missiles destroyed a compound, a bunker and two vehicles of the Taliban in the semi-autonomous tribal belt along the Afghan border. As militants gathered for funeral rites for the dead later in the day, another unmanned drone aircraft dropped three more missiles, officials said.
He said hundreds of militants were assembled to attend the funeral prayers of one of their commanders killed in the initial strike. "The reports we are receiving from the area said that the death toll may rise as hundreds of militants were attending the funeral prayers," he said. A local intelligence official confirmed the death toll and said he had reports of more than 10 wounded in the second attack. Posted by: tipper 2009-06-23 |
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