 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Suspected US strike in Pakistan kills three: officials
Miranshah, Pakistan (AFP) June 14, 2009 A suspected US missile strike targeting Islamist militants killed three people Sunday in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, officials said. The attack hit in the Laddha region of South Waziristan, where Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion are holed up, plotting attacks on Western targets. "A drone attack targeting a militant vehicle killed three people in Mardar Algad area," said Amir Mohammad Khan, local administration official in Laddha. "There is a training camp close to this area," he added. The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region. Khan said that Taliban militants -- currently waging a bloody insurgency in Pakistan -- had surrounded the area of the attack and security forces were not able to gather any more information about the missile strike. Pakistani security forces have also recently bombed militant hideouts in lawless South Waziristan as they escalate a seven-week campaign to crush Taliban militants in the northwest of the nuclear-armed nation. An intelligence official in the area confirmed the missile attack. "A drone targeted militant vehicles in the Mardar Algad area," he told AFP. "One of the double-cabin pick-up trucks was totally destroyed. Preliminary reports say that three militants were killed." Pakistan security forces launched an offensive against Taliban fighters across three northwestern districts on April 26, after the insurgents advanced to within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of Islamabad. The offensive recently expanded into Bannu district, which borders the semi-autonomous South Waziristan, and US defence officials said Friday that the tribal zone on the Afghan border would be next in the offensive. The United States has adopted a new strategy to defeat Islamist extremists, putting Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda and sending an extra 21,000 US troops to neighbouring Afghanistan to battle the Taliban. Pakistan publicly opposes drone attacks, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, more than 40 such strikes have killed around 420 people. The last suspected US missile strike hit on May 16, killing 25 people. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links News From Across The Stans
Hell of Afghanistan brought home to British troopsStanford, England (AFP) June 12, 2009 The tense atmosphere in Sindh Kalay village bazaar explodes as a Taliban suicide bomber strikes. Afghan locals scream in pain and terror and nervous British patrol troops hit the deck. Yelling in Pashto, fruit-sellers flee and exhausted Welsh soldiers drag a victim to safety, blood pouring from the stump of his leg into the straw, mud and chicken droppings of the noisy, smelly market. Bu ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook