Jan 28, 2008 11:57 pm US/Eastern
Pakistan: 12 Militants Killed By Missile
MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan (AP) ―
A missile destroyed a suspected militant hideout in northwestern
Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 12 people inside, officials said, as
hundreds of students protested Pakistan's support for the U.S.-led war
on terror.
In clashes elsewhere in the volatile region, militants killed a government soldier and injured four more.
The air attack occurred after midnight in Khushali Torikhel, a
village in North Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan,
intelligence and government officials in the region said. The two
officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak to media
The intelligence official described the victims as "local Taliban."
An Interior Ministry spokesman said he had no information about the attack.
Pakistan has been trying to tamp down on militancy in its border
regions, where elements of al Qaeda and the Taliban are believed to
operate.
Scores of militants and troops have died in clashes in the rugged
region in recent weeks, as Islamic insurgents have stepped up attacks
against government troops and officials.
The government frequently employs air strikes to attack militants in areas that its ground forces and artillery can't reach.
The mounting violence in the northwest has contributed to the
growing unpopularity of President Pervez Musharraf, a staunch U.S. ally.
More than 500 people, including many high school and college
students, rallied in Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, to
demand an end to Pakistan's military cooperation with the United States.
Protest leaders called on the government to end the fighting in the tribal regions, as demonstrators chanted "Death to America."
"The Pakistan army is committing atrocities," said Najib Ullah, a student protester. "They must stop."
In other fighting Tuesday, one soldier was killed in South
Waziristan, a neighboring region along the border, the army said in a
statement. Twelve insurgents were arrested in the area, it said.
In another area of North Waziristan, four members of the
paramilitary Frontier Constabulary were injured when assailants fired
several artillery rockets at a military base, said a local intelligence
official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak to the media.
The fighting comes a day after gunmen held dozens of students and teachers hostage at a school in a nearby district.
The hostage drama in Bannu, on the border with the tribal area where
Tuesday's clashes occurred, ended peacefully after five hours when the
hostage-takers were allowed to flee to avoid bloodshed.
The incident further underscored the government's fragile grip on
Pakistan's borderlands near Afghanistan, where crime is also rife.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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