ASIA: Eight killed in US missile strikes in Pakistan: officials
02 Mar 2009 12:59 AM
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 1 AFP - At least eight people were killed on Sunday in two suspected US missile strikes in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, security officials said.
"Two missiles fired by a suspected US drone hit a compound in Sararogha, in tribal South Waziristan region, killing at least eight suspected militants," a security official told AFP.
The region, bordering Afghanistan, is a known haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists.
"It was a Taliban sanctuary, which was destroyed in the attack," another security official said.
"Some foreigners were possibly among those killed in the attack," he said.
This was the fourth missile strike by unmanned US aircraft since President Barack Obama came to power.
A suspected US missile strike on February 16 destroyed an Afghan Taliban camp and killed 26 in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Kurram.
Pakistan is a key ally in the US led "war against terrorism", but the strikes have fuelled anti-American sentiments in Pakistan and particularly in the tribal belt, where Washington says al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctuaries exist.
The lawless tribal areas have been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels sought refuge in the region after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001.
