Pakistan: US did not warn of missile strike

Intelligence officials say strike targeted compound used by Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami terrorists.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
USAF 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
USAF 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Pakistan said Thursday it was not warned about a suspected US missile strike in its northwest that came the same day a top American official assured Pakistani leaders of US respect for the Muslim nation's sovereignty. The reported attack will likely fuel anger in Pakistan over a surge in cross-border operations by US forces - including a Sept. 3 ground assault - that has strained the countries' seven-year anti-terror alliance. While denying prior knowledge of Wednesday's reported strike, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi indicated Pakistan's civilian leadership wants to defuse tensions through diplomacy, including during upcoming talks in the United States. The suspected strike came as the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, was in Pakistan visiting the prime minister, the army chief and other officials. The US Embassy said Mullen "reiterated the US commitment to respect Pakistan's sovereignty and to develop further US-Pakistani cooperation and coordination on these critical issues that challenge the security and well-being of the people of both countries." Qureshi, who was among those who met with Mullen, told reporters that Pakistani officials "were not informed" of the suspected strike later Wednesday. Asked about Mullen's statement, Qureshi said, "it's a clear, clear commitment to Pakistan to respect Pakistan's sovereignty." "And now if having said that there was an attack later in the night, that means there is some sort of an institutional disconnect on their side, and if so, they will have to sort it out," he said. Two intelligence officials told The Associated Press that the Wednesday missile strike targeted a compound in South Waziristan used by Taliban terrorists and Hezb-i-Islami, another group involved in escalating attacks in Afghanistan. One of the officials said an unmanned drone of the type used by the CIA and US forces in Afghanistan was heard in the area. They said informants reported six people had died and three others were wounded. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. US Embassy spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos declined to comment Thursday, in line with usual US avoidance of discussions of alleged missile strikes. Washington has long been concerned about Taliban and al-Qaida militants' use of Pakistan's lawless tribal regions near the Afghan border as bases from which to plan attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. A spate of alleged missile strikes, as well as the ground assault, signal American impatience with Pakistani progress in clearing out such sanctuaries. Pakistan insists it is doing all it can, suffering heavy military losses as a result, and that unilateral attacks will simply deepen tribal sympathy for militants. Earlier this month, Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani issued a strong public rebuke to the US, saying Pakistan's territorial integrity "will be defended at all cost" and denying there was any agreement for US forces to operate there. The army also has said Pakistani troops have orders to fire on intruding forces following the Sept. 3 attack. Some analysts said it was unlikely Pakistan would risk the huge sums it receives in American aid by targeting US soldiers or aircraft. Qureshi on Thursday asked Pakistanis to avoid issuing "emotional statements" about cross-border attacks and said he planned to give a "very honest and frank assessment of what we are gaining and what we are losing by such actions" in upcoming talks with US officials. "Our stance is that we should cooperate with each other, and such incursions cannot improve the atmosphere, and rather they will deteriorate it, and will be counterproductive," he said. He also said that Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, would lead a delegation to the United Nations later this month and will meet American leaders on the sidelines. In other violence Thursday, police said two suicide bombers blew themselves up to keep police from entering a school where dozens of terrorists were holding some 300 children hostage. No one was killed besides the suicide bombers. The attack occurred at a boys school in a remote village in Upper Dir in Pakistan's northwest, said police officer Akbar Ali. Villagers and police traded fire with the militants before police reclaimed the building. In addition, foreign troops killed a former provincial police chief in southern Afghanistan during an overnight clash that also left two of his bodyguards dead, an official said. Troops battled with Ruzi Khan Barakzai, the former police chief of Uruzgan province, near the provincial capital of Tirin Kot, said Uruzgan's deputy police chief Ghulab Khan Wardak. Barakzai was called to a house of his friend, which was surrounded by foreign troops late Wednesday, Wardak said. After he arrived with his guards at the house, a clash with foreign troops erupted in which Barakzai and two of his bodyguards were killed, Wardak said. Two other of Barakzai's bodyguards were wounded. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said its troops were involved in an incident in Uruzgan on Wednesday night, but did not have more details. Barakzai was a tribal leader and a militia commander in Uruzgan. In other violence, Taliban militants killed two policemen and wounded three others after attacking their checkpoint in the eastern Paktika province Thursday morning, said provincial governor Akram Akhpelwak. In central Logar province, meanwhile, five other police officers were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle Wednesday, said Mostapha Mohseni. In the western Herat province's Shindand, another roadside blast wounded three more policemen, said Noor Khan Nekzad, a regional police spokesman. Terrorists have killed more than 720 police in the last six months. In 2007, militants killed about 925 police - meaning the pace of attacks this year has increased. Afghanistan's 80,000 police have less training and less firepower than the Afghan army, making them an attractive target for militants. The police also travel in small groups through some of Afghanistan's most dangerous territory. In all, more than 4,500 people - mostly militants - have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Afghan and Western officials.