US missiles kill 24 in NWA
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* 20 terrorists killed as aircraft attacks a training camp in Shawal, four in strike on a vehicle in same area
* Foreign and Punjabi Taliban thought to be among dead
MIRANSHAH: A pair of US missile strikes hit an alleged terrorist training facility and a suspected vehicle in North Waziristan on Wednesday, killing 24 terrorists, intelligence officials said.
At least 20 terrorists were killed when US drone aircraft fired four missiles at a fortress-like terrorist training camp in Zawai Narai area of Shawal tehsil, the officials said. They said that the compound in Shawal tehsil, which lies along the border that separates South and North Waziristan tribal regions, was run by fighters loyal to warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur, whose loyalists attack in Afghanistan, and was targeted by five US missiles at around 12pm.
“The death toll is 20. It is likely to go up,” a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Foreign and terrorists from central Punjab were thought to be among the dead, he added.
Local officials in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, also confirmed the attack and the death toll. Local residents described the camp as a major training centre on the top of a hill surrounded by trees and ice cold natural springs. Shortly afterwards, two more missiles were fired at a vehicle suspected to be carrying terrorists in a village in South Waziristan about three kilometres away from the site of the first strike.
A local intelligence official told Reuters that four terrorists were killed in the strike on the vehicle.
Another intelligence official in the region said the militants had cordoned off the area and no-one was allowed to visit the sites of the attacks.
The al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network and foreign terrorist networks are also known to operate in the remote mountains of Shawal, enveloped in thick forest.
Wednesday’s strike came two days after US missiles killed 18 terrorists in South Waziristan, then the deadliest strikes for months.
Drone strikes are hugely unpopular among the general public, who are deeply opposed to the government’s alliance with Washington, but US officials say the missile strikes have severely weakened al Qaeda’s leadership. The United States does not officially confirm Predator drone attacks, but its military and the CIA operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the armed, unmanned aircraft in the region.
Thirteen attacks have been reported in the country’s tribal belt since US commandos found and killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad. agencies
* Foreign and Punjabi Taliban thought to be among dead
MIRANSHAH: A pair of US missile strikes hit an alleged terrorist training facility and a suspected vehicle in North Waziristan on Wednesday, killing 24 terrorists, intelligence officials said.
At least 20 terrorists were killed when US drone aircraft fired four missiles at a fortress-like terrorist training camp in Zawai Narai area of Shawal tehsil, the officials said. They said that the compound in Shawal tehsil, which lies along the border that separates South and North Waziristan tribal regions, was run by fighters loyal to warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur, whose loyalists attack in Afghanistan, and was targeted by five US missiles at around 12pm.
“The death toll is 20. It is likely to go up,” a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Foreign and terrorists from central Punjab were thought to be among the dead, he added.
Local officials in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, also confirmed the attack and the death toll. Local residents described the camp as a major training centre on the top of a hill surrounded by trees and ice cold natural springs. Shortly afterwards, two more missiles were fired at a vehicle suspected to be carrying terrorists in a village in South Waziristan about three kilometres away from the site of the first strike.
A local intelligence official told Reuters that four terrorists were killed in the strike on the vehicle.
Another intelligence official in the region said the militants had cordoned off the area and no-one was allowed to visit the sites of the attacks.
The al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network and foreign terrorist networks are also known to operate in the remote mountains of Shawal, enveloped in thick forest.
Wednesday’s strike came two days after US missiles killed 18 terrorists in South Waziristan, then the deadliest strikes for months.
Drone strikes are hugely unpopular among the general public, who are deeply opposed to the government’s alliance with Washington, but US officials say the missile strikes have severely weakened al Qaeda’s leadership. The United States does not officially confirm Predator drone attacks, but its military and the CIA operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the armed, unmanned aircraft in the region.
Thirteen attacks have been reported in the country’s tribal belt since US commandos found and killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad. agencies
(source:dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C06%5C09%5Cstory_9-6-2011_pg1_3)
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