Suspected US missiles killed six people including three Arab militants in Pakistan's tribal belt on Monday, as the country's premier prepared for talks with US President George W. Bush.
Three missiles struck a house attached to a mosque in the tribal district of South Waziristan, an area bordering Afghanistan that is regarded by Washington as a haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists, officials said.
The identities of those killed were not known. A group of Arabs, believed to be Egyptians, had rented a compound containing the house and the madrassa from a local tribesman, Malik Salat, residents said.
Now first off, I think the U.S. is using a clever strategy here - if you notice in all of these missile attacks that the U.S. has pulled off in the Pakistani region near the Afghan border, the dead have almost ALL been Arabs...in other words, those with al Qaeda links. We have not seen a flat out attack solely on Taliban (which could be construed as an attack on local tribal fighters) - thus the U.S. is positioning itself in talks with Pakistan that al Qaeda is fair game, wherever they are. And at the same time, as the Pakistanis become more desensitized by these attacks, it will open the gates to attacks on gathering Taliban forces.
Now, another part of the article I want to point out:
Pakistani officials said the missiles were not fired by their forces but apparently came from US coalition troops deployed over the border, which lies some 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Azam Warsak.
"This has been done by coalition forces, we did not do it," another Pakistani security official said.
You see how the Pakistanis go out of their way to cower to the Taliban and al Qaeda? You can almost see this guy shaking in his boots 'cause he thinks the Taliban and/or al Qaeda is going to retaliate against them. Good grief, grow a spine! Oh and look at the hidden commentary by the Paki AFP reporter for this story:
Residents said that they heard US aircraft and pilotless Predator drones flying above the area before and after the strike, adding that there had been alarm over similar flights throughout the weekend.Yep, gotta get that propaganda in there where you can...have to manufacture that civilian fear of the bad old U.S. flying overhead.
Well, let me put it this way....these are the al Qaeda that have bombed the shit out of the people in Islamabad that this writer is trying to defend. These are the Taliban that have beheaded two women in front of an entire village. These are the forces that have held entire provinces hostage and murdered countless Paki military troops. But this AFP writer wants to point the finger at the U.S. What a bunch of scum.
Suspected US missiles kill six in Pakistan
Suspected US missiles killed six people including three Arab militants in Pakistan's tribal belt on Monday, as the country's premier prepared for talks with US President George W. Bush.
Three missiles struck a house attached to a mosque in the tribal district of South Waziristan, an area bordering Afghanistan that is regarded by Washington as a haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists, officials said.
"Six people are dead and three others injured after three missiles hit a house in Azam Warsak (village)," a senior security official told AFP. He said those killed were three "suspected Arab militants and three young boys."
Residents said that they heard US aircraft and pilotless Predator drones flying above the area before and after the strike, adding that there had been alarm over similar flights throughout the weekend.
Pakistani officials said the missiles were not fired by their forces but apparently came from US coalition troops deployed over the border, which lies some 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Azam Warsak.
"This has been done by coalition forces, we did not do it," another Pakistani security official said.
The identities of those killed were not known. A group of Arabs, believed to be Egyptians, had rented a compound containing the house and the madrassa from a local tribesman, Malik Salat, residents said.
A number of Arab Al-Qaeda operatives are believed to be hiding in the tribal belt, including Osama bin Laden, blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Military officials in Islamabad and the US-led coalition in Afghanistan were not immediately available to comment.
Pakistan has protested over a wave of missile strikes attributed to US-led forces in Afghanistan in recent months which have killed dozens of local people.
Officials including the governor of North West Frontier Province, which adjoins the tribal belt, have warned that the missile strikes are damaging support for Pakistan's new government.
The latest killings took place hours before the scheduled talks between Bush and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the White House.
Bush said ahead of the talks that he was "troubled" by the movement of extremists from Pakistan to Afghanistan and would discuss the threat with Gilani, who is making his first White House visit since taking office in March.
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