Up To 12 Killed In Pakistan Explosion

Locals, Intelligence Officials Say Blast Likely U.S. Missile Strike Against Militants

(CBS/AP)  A pre-dawn explosion demolished a house in Pakistan's turbulent border zone Thursday, killing up to 12 people, intelligence officials and a local militant said.

The blast was reported in a village in South Waziristan, a region bordering Afghanistan where militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban operate. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.

One intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the record, said about 10 foreign militants were believed killed.

Six others were wounded in the strike in the village of Kalosha, the official said, citing initial reports from informants in the area. He had no further details of the victims' identity.

The official, based in Dera Ismail Khan, a city near South Waziristan, said the suspects had been staying in the home of a local tribesman.

Local sources in the area told CBS News Thursday that the explosion appeared to have been caused by a missile launched by a U.S. Predator drone, and the house was thought to be where a group of al Qaeda members who arrived last week - including some Egyptian and Uzbek nationals - were meeting.

A local militant fighter, who did not want his name used for fear he might be targeted by security forces, said up to 12 of his guests had been killed. He said they were all Afghan civilians, including children.

The militant said a plane had been heard in the area shortly before the strike and one of the intelligence officials said a U.S. drone may have fired a missile at the house. Pakistani forces were not involved, he said.

A local resident of a nearby village, Saida Gul Wazir, told CBS News he was awakened in the early morning hours by "the horrific sound of a missile". He said the sound of the missile made him believe it was fired by a U.S. aircraft. "The Pakistani missile attack does not have such sounds," Wazir said.

A second intelligence officer said the explosion rattled the windows of his office in Wana, South Waziristan's main town, about six miles away. He said the nationalities and identities of those killed were unclear.

A spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said they had no information about the incident.

South Waziristan lies in a swath of Pakistani territory that has fallen increasingly under the control of militant groups opposed to the American-backed governments in Kabul and Islamabad.

Western officials are concerned that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, have found increasingly secure refuge in the area.

Pakistan says it does not allow U.S. forces to operate on its territory. However, unmanned American Predator aircraft have apparently fired missiles at suspected militant targets on several occasions in recent years. Last month, Abu Laith al-Libi - a key al Qaeda leader - was killed when a Predator fired on a suspected terrorist safehouse in the north Waziristan region.

In a new video tape released Wednesday, the group's No. 2 commander, Ayman al-Zawahri, praised al-Libi as a "knight" of al Qaeda's holy war.

Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency director, said Wednesday during testimony on Capitol Hill that Pakistan's military had been ineffective at cracking down on militants operating in its border region with Afghanistan.

Maples appeared before the Senate Armed Services committee along with National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell to brief lawmakers on the largest threats still facing America in the war on terror. The intelligence bosses told Senators that only 30 percent of Afghanistan was under the control of the U.S.-backed government.

[lovegetpeace]

The 1st Bush''s policy on the War on Drugs was to get Pablo Escobar who was the leader of the largest drug cartel in Columbia. When Pablo was killed, 10 comanders were ready to replace him. Today, we import 3 times more cocaine from Columbia.

For every Terrorist that is killed, 10 commanders are ready to replace him.

[mcvet]

terrorjisma, whatever happened to terrorjism6 and terrorjism7 and terrorjism8 and terrorjism9 and terrorjism0?


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Posted by FloydZepp at 06:53 AM : Feb 28, 2008
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Well you see he MUST change that! It''s the ONLY orginal Idea the boy EVER had. It''s a small change yes but in his case, with the very small brain he has, its all he can muster.