Suspected US missiles hit buildings in two Pakistani villages close to the Afghan border, killing about 20 people, most of them alleged militants, officials said yesterday.
The US has launched a flurry of strikes in recent weeks against suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban targets in northwestern Pakistan, straining ties between the two anti-terror allies.
Pakistan has been unwilling or unable to eliminate militant sanctuaries blamed for rising violence on both sides of the frontier. The region is a possible hiding place for al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
PHOTO: AP
Two Pakistani intelligence officers said two missiles believed to have been fired from US unmanned drones launched from neighboring Afghanistan hit two villages in the same district of the North Waziristan tribal region just before dusk on Friday.
One attack in Mohammadkhel Village, 45km west of Miran Shah, the region’s main town, killed about 19 people, most of them alleged militants, including about a half-dozen foreigners, the officials said, citing agents in the field.
The intelligence officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.
Pakistan army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas also said initial reports indicated that 20 or more people were killed. He said there was “speculation” that many were foreign militants, but cautioned that the army was still awaiting a detailed report.
There were no reported casualties in the other strike in the village of Khata Kaly.
Lieutenant Nathan Perry, a spokesman for the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, said he had “no information to give” about the reported attacks.
Friday’s attack appeared to be the deadliest of 11 reported cross-border operations by US-led forces since Aug. 20.
US officials have acknowledged some of the strikes. However, they have provided few details, and casualty reports from the dangerous and remote border region are nearly impossible to verify.
Pakistan’s military and civilian leaders have complained that the attacks violate the country’s sovereignty, kill civilians and anger the local population, making it harder to crack down on the militants.
Militants on the Pakistan side of the border are blamed for a surge in attacks on US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, where violence is running at its highest level since the 2001 US-led invasion toppled the Taliban.
Extremists based in the border region are also blamed for rising attacks within Pakistan, including the Sept. 20 truck bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed more than 50 people.
A Zurich city councilor has apologized and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting, and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media. Green-Liberal party official Sanija Ameti, 32, put the images on Instagram over the weekend before quickly pulling them down. She later wrote on social media that she had been practicing shots from about 10m and only found the poster as “big enough” for a suitable target. “I apologize to the people who were hurt by my post. I deleted it immediately when I
The governor of Ohio is to send law enforcement and millions of dollars in healthcare resources to the city of Springfield as it faces a surge in temporary Haitian migrants. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday said that he does not oppose the Temporary Protected Status program under which about 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 people since 2020, but said the federal government must do more to help affected communities. On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost directed his office to research legal avenues — including filing a lawsuit — to stop the federal government from sending
At first, Francis Ari Sture thought a human was trying to shove him down the steep Norwegian mountainside. Then he saw the golden eagle land. “We are staring at each other for, maybe, a whole minute,” Sture said on Monday. “I’m trying to think what’s in its mind.” The bird then attacked Sture five more times on Thursday last week, scratching and clawing the 31-year-old bicycle courier’s face and arms over 10 to 15 minutes as he sprinted down the mountain. The same eagle is believed to be responsible for attacks on three other people across a vast mountainous area of southern Norway
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for