A missile fired from a U.S. drone aircraft killed at least 32 pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan's mountainous Datta Khel district June 19. Intelligence officials said some foreigners were among those killed. Abu Laith al-Libi, an al Qaeda field commander, was the target of the attack, sources said. | Oh, be still my heart! And now, more details: |
A missile attack, probably launched by US forces in Afghanistan, has killed at least 32 people in a Pakistani tribal region near the border, Pakistani officials said. Tuesday's attack targeted a suspected Taliban training base in a village 60km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, they said.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters some foreigners were among those killed in Mamy Rogha, raising the possibility that al Qaeda fighters might have also been present. North Waziristan is a known refuge for remnants of Osama bin Laden's network. | Remnants now spread over the landscape |
"There was a cluster of three houses and a tent which were hit. There were about 45 people in that area," a senior government official told Reuters. A US drone aircraft carried out the attack at around 10:30 am (0530 GMT), according to intelligence officials and residents.
It was not known whether any leading Taliban or al Qaeda figures were targeted in the attack. The Pakistani army had not carried out any operations in the area, Major-General Waheed Arshad, the army spokesman, said. Initial reports suggested the explosion occurred while the fighters were making a bomb, he said.
Pakistani military spokesmen have offered such explanations in the past when US forces in Afghanistan have launched strikes on suspected targets in Pakistani territory to avoid admitting any violation of territorial sovereignty. |