Several explosions reportedly caused by missile strikes from unmanned US drone aircraft hit a house and seminary linked to a key Taliban commander in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, officials said. An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of his job, said at least six people were killed, including three foreigners and two children, in what appeared to be the latest in a string of attacks by US forces on Islamic militant havens in Pakistan's tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
The targets apparently belonged to Jalauddin Haqqani, a veteran of the jihad against Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s who American commanders describe as one of their most dangerous foes. Haqqani and his son, Siraj, have been linked to attacks this year including an attempt to kill Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a bold attack on a luxury hotel in Kabul. Haqqani network operatives plague US forces in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province with ambushes and roadside bombs. |