 Pakistan says it is investigating US media reports that Al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri may have died in a US air strike on a village near the Afghan border. Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid has not confirmed details of the attack, or whether Al Qaeda's number two was the target. The US television network ABC has quoted Pakistani military sources as saying five of a reported 18 people killed were suspected senior Al Qaeda members. Earlier, residents of the tribal region of Bajaur and local security officials said at least 14 people were killed in what they believe was a missile attack launched from Afghanistan.
| I'm not going to get my hopes up too much at this stage, but it's obvious he was the target, and the thought of getting five Qaeda bigs makes my little heart go pitty-pat. It's interesting to compare this to the original Pak Daily Times story, where the carnage was limited to sweet little old granny ladies who baked cookies, kiddies, fuzzy puppies, and baby ducks. |
 PESHAWAR: Eighteen people, mostly women and children, were killed on Friday morning as missiles allegedly fired by US aircraft hit three houses in Bajaur Agency near the Afghan border. Two wounded women were admitted to a hospital in Khar, the Bajaur Agency headquarters. They were said to be in serious condition.
| No mention of any Qaeda bigs, or even adult males... |
âThe killings occurred in my neighbourhood. Eighteen people, most of whom were women and children, were killed and buried in a mass grave,â Bajaur Agency Member of National Assembly (MNA) Haroon Rashid said.
| The local pols rush forth to denounce the attack. Haroon al-Rashid (that's gotta be an alias), living in the neighborhood as he does, can be expected to be aware of any foreigners or other tough guys wandering around, so if it turns out Ayman is one of the corpses, or even just that five of the corpses are high-ranking al-Qaeda figures, he's branded as a liar and as a traitor to his country... |
Three houses were targeted in the attack in Damadola village, 30 kilometres north of Khar, in Mamoond tehsil at 3:00am.
| Everyone should be expected to be snuggy-bye at 3 a.m... |
The houses were 50 kilometres from the Afghan border overlooking Kunar province, a hotbed of anti-US insurgency.
| ... and often stated to be the current stomping grounds of Binny and/or Ayman... |
Local administration official Abdul Qayyum said it was unclear what had actually happened.
| Sounds like the place was rocketed. What do you think, Abdul? |
A fact-finding team was being dispatched to the area to investigate the incident, he said. Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said: âOur agencies have not yet clarified exactly what happened.â US forces in Afghanistan killed eight tribesmen in a similar attack on January 8 in the Saidgai border village.
| Now, why would they do something like that? |
Local residents said that two of the six children killed were six years old.
| The baby ducks were freshly hatched, and the fluffy bunnies barely weaned... |
âThe limbs of the dead were scattered all over the place,â said Lateef Khan, a local resident.
| They didn't use the little rockets, huh? |
The Bajaur Agency MNA said that if the government had not carried out the strikes, US forces in Afghanistan are the only possible explanation. âTwo US spy planes have been spotted over the village for the last three days,â he said.
| That's a bad sign. If Ayman heard about the spy planes, you know he beat feet before the second one showed up... |
However, the federal information minister rejected US involvement in the killings. âAmerican planes did not carry out the strikes. There was an explosion, and that may have caused the casualties,â he said.
| That's 'cuz we'd never violate Pak sovreignty, since they'd never harbor our sworn enemies on their territory... |
Masood Khan, whose house was among those bombed and whose family was killed in the attack, said that he was asleep when he suddenly heard a loud explosion. Khan denied having any links with Al Qaeda or any banned militant organisation. âWe have nothing to do with these groups,â he said. âWe are innocent. We have been treated unjustly, and leave it to God to do justice.â
| "We are innocent, but well-armed, hill folk!" |
The attack generated anger among the tribesmen, and MNA Rashid asked the people to attend a protest meeting organised by Jamaat-e-Islami on Saturday to condemn âthe uncalled-for aggressionâ.
| If Ayman was there, it was called-for. Yet another case of the Jamaat jumping to the defense of the hard boyz, but we're used to that. |
A security official said that wanted Al Qaeda suspect Maulana Faqir Muhammadâs house is located 10 kilometres from the site of the strikes.
| I don't think that's what they were shooting for... |
An airstrike in a remote Pakistani tribal area killed at least 17 people, and a senior Pakistani official said Saturday the target was a suspected al-Qaida hideout that may have been frequented by high-level operatives, possibly the No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri. Citing unnamed American intelligence officials, U.S. networks reported that it was a CIA strike and that al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's lieutenant, could have been at a targeted compound in the Bajur area or about to arrive.
There was no confirmation from either the Pakistani or U.S. government, but a senior Pakistani government official told The Associated Press that "there is 50-50 chance that some al-Qaida personality was at the home" that was hit early Friday in the border village of Damadola, about 125 miles northwest of the capital Islamabad. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Saturday that he had heard that the al-Qaida figure may have been al-Zawahri and that the information would be clearer later Saturday. ABC quoted anonymous Pakistani military sources as saying he could have been among five top al-Qaida officials believed killed. A senior Pakistani intelligence official told AP that the remains of some bodies were removed after the strike and DNA tests were being conducted, but would not say by whom. |