ISLAMABAD: Up to 14 militants were killed yesterday when a suspected US missile strike destroyed an Al-Qaeda training camp in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, officials said. Four missiles are thought to have been fired at the camp, in Kumsham village, some 35 kilometers south of Miranshah in North Waziristan province.
Security sources said the village is dominated by Wazir tribes and is near the border with South Waziristan, another hub of Taleban and Al-Qaeda operatives. “Between 11 to 14 militants, mainly foreigners, were killed in the strike,” a senior military official told AFP on condition of anonymity, using the Pakistani term to describe Al-Qaeda extremists.
Meanwhile, with growing concentration of Taleban in various regions of Swat Valley and their constant attacks on Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps camps, the authorities yesterday imposed indefinite curfew. According to Swat media center, indefinite curfew has been imposed in Swat since 2:00 p.m. yesterday. Sources said deteriorating law and order situation forced to impose curfew in the region.
In another development, security forces eliminated 21 militants in Bajaur yesterday. The Pakistani Army is undertaking a major offensive in the border region against militants. Late Thursday, Pakistani helicopters and jets killed 21 suspected militants, said Jamil Khan, the No. 2 government representative in the semiautonomous Bajaur region.
A surge in US cross-border attacks has occurred since August, angering Pakistani officials who say the raids are violating the nuclear-armed country’s sovereignty and undermining its own anti-terror war in the border region.
Repairing strained ties while keeping pressure on Al-Qaeda and Taleban commanders hiding out in the lawless frontier area will be a key challenge for US President-elect Barack Obama when he takes office in January.
Yesterday’s attack by an unmanned plane took place in Kam Sam village in North Waziristan region. A Pakistani intelligence official said an agent who visited the village reported that 13 suspected militants had died. The official said the targeted house belonged to a local Taleban commander and that authorities were still trying to determine who exactly was killed.
A government representative in the region also put the toll at 13. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
It was the first suspected American attack since the installation of Gen. David Petraeus as head of the US Central Command on Oct. 31, giving him overall command of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He visited Pakistan and Afghanistan this week.
— With input from agencies
