Global General

US missiles kill 23 in Pakistan

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-09 13:05

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A pair of US missile strikes hit a vehicle and an alleged insurgent training facility Wednesday in a tribal region near the Afghan border, killing 23 suspected Islamist militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Hours later, Taliban militants attacked a security checkpoint in a neighboring tribal region, sparking a clash that left eight soldiers and 10 insurgents dead, intelligence officials said.

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The two missile strikes bring this week's count to five. They are the latest sign that the US has no intention of abandoning the tactic despite public disapproval in Pakistan and a downturn in relations between Islamabad and Washington following the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

The strikes occurred within minutes of each other, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media on the record.

One missile hit a vehicle carrying five men. The other struck a nearby compound, killing 18 people in the Shawal area, which lies along the border that separates the South and North Waziristan tribal regions. The compound is believed to have housed a training camp for extremists, the officials said.

Both regions are home to various militant groups, including several involved in attacks on Western forces across the border in Afghanistan.

The area hit Wednesday was on the North Waziristan side, in territory under the control of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a warlord involved in the Afghan fight.

North Waziristan is the usual target for US missiles because it is home to more groups fighting in Afghanistan and because the Pakistani military has resisted US appeals to launch an offensive there. But this week's strikes had mostly hit South Waziristan or along the border of the two regions.

The late Wednesday militant attack on Pakistani forces occurred in South Waziristan, where the Pakistani army has staged offensives.

The insurgents assaulted a security checkpoint in the Marabi area of the region, triggering a shootout. Eight soldiers died and seven were wounded. Ten insurgents also were killed, intelligence officials said.

Since 2008, the US has increased its use of drone-fired missiles to take out al-Qaida and Taliban targets in Pakistan. Islamabad officially protests the strikes as violations of Pakistan's sovereignty, but it is widely believed to have secretly provided intelligence for some of them.

The May 2 US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, a garrison city in Pakistan's northwest, infuriated Pakistani lawmakers who saw it as another violation of their sovereignty. Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution demanding the missile strikes end, but the US has ignored it.