 MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) - A missile from a suspected US drone killed 12 people Friday in a Pakistani tribal area where US forces have been aggressively targeting Al-Qaeda militants -- fuelling anger from Washington's key "war on terror" ally.
| Yet another smoking hole in the ground? Do tell? Y'don't think G.W.'s tired of the duplicity ooooooozing from Islamabad, do ya? |
The missile hit a house on the outskirts of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, a local official said, in the fourth such strike in a week aimed at Taliban or Al-Qaeda fighters hiding out in the rugged tribal area."The pre-dawn strike destroyed the house and 12 people were killed," the official told AFP, adding that another 14 people were wounded.
The 12 were believed to be rebel fighters, locals said, adding that the house hit in the Tol Khel area had been rented by an Afghan militant organisation, Al Badar, and was being used as an office. Al Badar, backed by former guerrilla leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, has previously conducted operations against Afghan and international forces based across the border in Afghanistan, residents and a security official said.
| Hek is formerly the Most Evil Man in the World. I haven't heard of al-Badar, at least not in an Afghan context. Golly, gosh and shucks. I wonder where Hek gets all that money to run all those terror orgs? |
Hekmatyar was briefly prime minister of Afghanistan in the 1990s after the end of its Soviet occupation.
| He was the brown mastiff in the Dog Eat Dog episode. |
He has backed the Taliban since the regime was removed from power following the US-led invasion of the country in 2001, after the September 11 attacks in the United States, and has demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces.
| ... in the hope of resuming his former brief but vaunted position. |
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.
 | I don't believe it, myself. It think it might be a resurgence of Dahomey and Upper Volta. The U.S. is just good-naturedly taking the blame for what they're doing, and I think it should stop. From now on, I think we should unequivocally blame Dahomey for every outrage like this one. |
| Are you sure it wasn't the Ruritanians? |
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani hit out at the strike, saying that only Pakistani forces have the right to act on its territory.
| "And they ain't gonna do it unless the bad guyz try to gnaw off too much of the pie." |
"We strongly condemn this attack and the government will raise this issue at diplomatic level," he told reporters.
| I agree. It's terrible. Just terrible. Damn that Dahomey! |
Thirty-eight people, including women and children, have been killed in the past week's missile attacks.
| Along with uncounted puppies, kittens, baby ducks and fluffy bunnies! Oh, the human toll! Really, the Paks should send a strongly worded letter to the Upper Voltan ambassador. I'm sure he'd know what to do with it. |
Pakistan and the United States have been drawn into a row over the strikes, with Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani this week strongly criticising them and insisting no deal existed to allow foreign troops to conduct them.
| "Yeah. No way are we lettin' them in to throw missiles around! I'd hate to think of how many of our people they've killed!" |
As well as missile strikes, Pakistan last week for the first time accused Afghanistan-based troops of carrying out a direct attack on its territory, a raid in the South Waziristan tribal zone that left 15 people dead. The Pakistani army reiterated its position Friday, with an official statement, quoting Kayani, pledging to safeguard the country's "territorial integrity."
| Well, I'm sure it wasn't us. I don't even think we were in town that day, and if we were, we were washing our hair. |
US and Afghan officials say Pakistan's tribal areas are a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who sneaked into the rugged region 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.
| We don't know where within targeting accuracy requirements. |
A separate strike in North Waziristan on Monday targeted but failed to hit top Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, but did kill four mid-level Al-Qaeda operatives, a security official and a militant source said.
| "That dudn't mean nuttin'. Around here, y'can't throw a rock without hittin' at least four al-Qaeda operatives." |
With tens of thousands of US and other international troops locked down in Afghanistan, US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Michael Mullen said Wednesday he had ordered a new strategy covering both sides of the border with Pakistan. The New York Times also reported that US President George W. Bush in July secretly approved orders enabling Special Operations forces to conduct ground operations in Pakistan without Islamabad's prior approval. |