US strikes kill dozens in Taliban heartland, says Pakistan
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 25, 2009 00:00
PESHAWAR - U.S. missile strikes killed dozens of people in a Pakistani tribal area controlled by Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, where the army is preparing an assault, officials said Wednesday. The attacks come as the United States prepares new orders for its troops in Afghanistan that will bar them from fighting with militants who are hiding among villagers. The orders aim to avoid any further civilian casualties.
Drone aircraft, which are only deployed by U.S. forces in the region, hit Taliban positions on Tuesday then struck again as hundreds of people gathered for a funeral in Mehsud's northwest tribal stronghold of South Waziristan.
But with the mountainous area on the Afghan border out of reach of government forces, security officials and Taliban militants have been giving widely differing death tolls, with some saying up to 80 people were killed.
Full-scale onslaught
A senior government official in the northwest city of Peshawar said that some important Taliban commanders may be among the dead. Pakistan's security forces are readying for a full-scale onslaught against Mehsud in the northwest tribal belt, where Washington alleges al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels are holed up, plotting attacks on Western targets. The first strike by an unmanned drone killed six militants in Shubi Khel, a remote area under the control of Mehsud's Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan about 65 kilometers north of the town of Wana.
As mourners gathered for funeral prayers, another drone unloaded three more missiles into the crowd, officials said.
"After the prayers ended people were asking each other to leave the area as drones were hovering," Mohammad Saeed Khan, 35, who lost his right leg in the attack, told Agence France-Presse from Miranshah hospital in North Waziristan.
"First two drones fired two missiles, it created a havoc, there was smoke and dust everywhere. Injured people were crying and asking for help... they fired the third missile after a minute, and I fell on the ground."
Rumors also circulated that Mehsud himself had been in the area before the drone attack. Two intelligence officials said Wednesday that although Mehsud had visited the village where the funeral took place, he left before the drone-fired missiles killed dozens of people. The two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media, said it was unclear how long before the attack Mehsud left. Meanwhile, Qari Hussain, a close associate of Mehsud, denied reports that Mehsud had a close call in the missile attack. "Baitullah Mehsud was at a secret place at the time of the American missile attack, and the attack killed only five of our colleagues," he told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Afghan soldiers have killed 48 militants in two operations in southern Afghanistan aimed at clearing Taliban strongholds ahead of presidential elections in August, the army said Wednesday.
But with the mountainous area on the Afghan border out of reach of government forces, security officials and Taliban militants have been giving widely differing death tolls, with some saying up to 80 people were killed.
Full-scale onslaught
A senior government official in the northwest city of Peshawar said that some important Taliban commanders may be among the dead. Pakistan's security forces are readying for a full-scale onslaught against Mehsud in the northwest tribal belt, where Washington alleges al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels are holed up, plotting attacks on Western targets. The first strike by an unmanned drone killed six militants in Shubi Khel, a remote area under the control of Mehsud's Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan about 65 kilometers north of the town of Wana.
As mourners gathered for funeral prayers, another drone unloaded three more missiles into the crowd, officials said.
"After the prayers ended people were asking each other to leave the area as drones were hovering," Mohammad Saeed Khan, 35, who lost his right leg in the attack, told Agence France-Presse from Miranshah hospital in North Waziristan.
"First two drones fired two missiles, it created a havoc, there was smoke and dust everywhere. Injured people were crying and asking for help... they fired the third missile after a minute, and I fell on the ground."
Rumors also circulated that Mehsud himself had been in the area before the drone attack. Two intelligence officials said Wednesday that although Mehsud had visited the village where the funeral took place, he left before the drone-fired missiles killed dozens of people. The two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media, said it was unclear how long before the attack Mehsud left. Meanwhile, Qari Hussain, a close associate of Mehsud, denied reports that Mehsud had a close call in the missile attack. "Baitullah Mehsud was at a secret place at the time of the American missile attack, and the attack killed only five of our colleagues," he told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Afghan soldiers have killed 48 militants in two operations in southern Afghanistan aimed at clearing Taliban strongholds ahead of presidential elections in August, the army said Wednesday.