DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) ‚ Suspected U.S. missiles hit a house frequented by an Arab militant near the Afghan border Friday and killed 20 people, intelligence officials said, in the latest alleged American attack on targets inside Pakistan.
It was unclear if the Arab, identified as Abu Kasha Iraqi, was among those killed in the attack, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Suspected U.S. unmanned planes have fired at militant targets in Pakistan at least 16 times since mid-August, putting pressure on extremists accused of planning attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan ‚ and perhaps terror strikes in the West.
But the marked uptick in their frequency is straining America's seven-year alliance with Pakistan, where rising violence is exacerbating economic problems gnawing at the nuclear-armed country's stability.
The United States rarely confirms or denies firing the missiles and the identities of those killed are also rarely made public. Locals frequently say civilians, sometimes women and children, are among the dead.
Two missiles were fired Friday into Mir Ali village in North Waziristan after drones had been flying overhead for several hours, the officials said, citing reports from agents and informers in the area.
They said 20 people were killed in the attack, but their identifies were unknown.
The first missile hit the house frequented by the Arab militant, while seconds later another blew up a car parked close by, the officials said.
Pakistan says the strikes are violations of its sovereignty and insists it is tackling the militants, pointing out an ongoing military offensive just north of Waziristan that has killed some 1,500 insurgents.
Earlier Friday, a suicide bomber attacked a police chief outside his house in the northwestern city of Mardan, missing him but killing three other officers and five civilians, officials said.
The suicide attacker, who was on foot, hit the first vehicle in a convoy as it emerged from the police chief's residence in the city, but the officer was in another car behind the gate.
“I was the target but such attacks cannot stop us from doing our duty,” said the chief, Akhtar Ali Shah.
TV footage showed a badly damaged police pickup truck just outside the police chief's residence and rescue workers loading bloodied survivors into ambulances.
There have been more than 90 suicide attacks on civilian, military and Western targets since July last year, killing nearly 1,200 people, according to military statistics.
Yahoo News
