Suspected US missile kills 10 in Pakistan

[July 08, 2009]  ISLAMABAD (AP) -- A suspected U.S. drone fired a barrage of missiles into a Taliban training camp Wednesday, killing 10 insurgents in the second such strike in the South Waziristan tribal region in 24 hours, intelligence officials said.

South Waziristan lies close to the Afghan border and is the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

Pakistan's military is also bombing and firing mortars at militant targets in the region, saying it is softening up Mehsud's fighters before launching a ground offensive there to eliminate him.

Mehsud is blamed for most of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in nuclear-armed Pakistan in recent years.

The suspected U.S. drone fired six missiles at the mountaintop training camp in the Karwan Manza area of South Waziristan before dawn Wednesday, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. The nationality and the identity of the slain men were not immediately known.

Independent verification of the casualties and the target was not possible because the region is remote and dangerous.

Pakistani and U.S. officials do not give public comment on the strikes.

The attack occurred around 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the scene of Tuesday's strike, which killed 12 militants, including five foreigners, according to intelligence officials.

There have been at least five suspected American missile attacks in South Waziristan over the last two weeks, an uptick that suggests Washington is also trying to kill or weaken Mehsud and his followers in the run-up to the Pakistani campaign.

Despite the apparent convergence of interests, Pakistan's army insists it is not coordinating with the U.S. It says the American missile attacks are hurting its attempts to kill or capture Mehsud because they alienate local tribesman they are trying to enlist in their campaign against him.

The United States is believed to have launched more than 40 missile strikes against targets in the border area since last August that have killed several hundred people, according to a count by The Associated Press based on figures given by intelligence officials.

The Pakistan government routinely protests the strikes as violation of the country's sovereignty and has publicly asked the United States to give them the technology to launch their own attacks. But many analysts suspect the government -- which has received billions of dollars a year from the United States in aid since 2001 -- secretly cooperates with them.

Also Wednesday, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the main northwestern city of Peshawar, which lies just next to the tribal areas. No one was killed in the attack except the bomber, police officer Qazi Jamil. Three bystanders suffered minor injuries.

Jamil said the target of the attack was unclear. Earlier, an officer said the blast was close to a police building, though that turned out to be untrue. TV stations reported the target may have been a passing police patrol.

[Associated Press; By MUNIR AHMAD]

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