Foreign militants among 9 die in Waziristan missile attack

PESHAWAR, August 20: Several people, including some foreign militants, were killed in a missile strike in Pakistan's tribal areas on Wednesday, loclas and security officials said.
It was a missile attack made from the neighbouring Afghanistan to target the militant hideout in Pakistan's South Waziristan, an area considered to be the stronghold of pro-al Qaeda leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Pakistan's military spokesman Brig. Gen. Athar AbbasAthar Abbas confirmed the blast, but said they had no more information.
Intelligence officials, on the other hand, said the missile came from the Afghan side. "It is fired by the foreign troops stationed over there," said the unnamed official here.
He said initial reports collected by them reveal that nine people were killed in the attack. According to intelligence reports, three of them are said to be foreign militants. However, their nationalities are not known at the moment.
Missile attacks from across the border into Pakistani tribal areas, or by drones from the air, are not something new. The foreign militants, mostly Arabs, Chechen and Uzbek, hiding in the lawless tribal areas of Pakistan are often targeted by the NATO troops.
The Pakistani tribal agencies of Waziristan and Bajaur have been witnessing such attacks.
The NATO and US troops stationed in Afghanistan as well as the Afghan government believe the remnants of al-Qaeda and Taliban are hiding in the Pakistani tribal areas and launching attacks from their sanctuaries on the foreign troops and the Afghan government.
Last month, Afghan President Hamid KarzaiAfghan President Hamid Karzai had accused the Pakistni intelligence agency ISI of involvement in terrorist attacks in his country.
The allegations created a diplomatic deadlock between the two countries which is still continued. However, on Tuesday, chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani visited Kabul to attend a tripartite meeting with his Afghan counterpart Gen. Bismillah Khan and ISAF commander General David McKiernan.
A statement released by ISAF on Wednesday, said that the three commanders agreed on joint efforts to eliminate sanctuaries of militants.
ENDS