US attorney-general: Pakistani Taliban 'intimately involved' in botched bombingUS Attorney General Eric Holder told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the Pakistani Taliban was "intimately involved" in the failed Times Square bombing. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said the finding "underscores the serious threat that we face from a very determined enemy."The missile strikes Sunday were in North Waziristan, which has been the target of nearly all of the some 30 other American attacks this year.Two Pakistani intelligence officials said the two missiles hit the house of local tribesman Awal Gul in Enzer Kasa village of the Datta Khel area. Ten people were killed, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.Nine of those killed by the strike were insurgents, said a senior army official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.It was not immediately clear whether Gul had any ties to militant groups.Pakistan, a key US ally, officially protests the strikes on its territory as violations of its sovereignty, but it is believed to aid them. The US rarely discusses the unmanned-drone-fired strikes, which are part of a covert CIA program.In recent months, North Waziristan has become a new haven for Pakistani Taliban leaders who have fled a Pakistani army offensive in their previous stronghold, neighboring South Waziristan.The Pakistani Taliban, while linked to the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida, have primarily directed their attacks at targets inside Pakistan, making that militant group a priority for the country's army. Involvement in the Times Square plot would represent a significant show of strength for the organization, which has never attacked outside South Asia.Despite US pressure, the Pakistani army has held off on waging an offensive against other militant networks based in North Waziristan because it does not want to antagonize powerful insurgent groups there that have so far attacked only targets in Afghanistan.On Sunday morning, Pakistani army helicopters pounded insurgent hide-outs in the Orakzai tribal region, killing 23 militants, local official Jahanzeb Khan said.Pakistan security forces are carrying out an operation against insurgents who escaped the military offensive in South Waziristan. Some have taken refuge in the Orakzai tribal region, which lies next to North Waziristan, and other neighboring tribal areas.
Pakistan: Suspected US missiles kill 10
House hit in NW; Islamabad to probe Times Square bomber's terror ties.
US attorney-general: Pakistani Taliban 'intimately involved' in botched bombingUS Attorney General Eric Holder told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the Pakistani Taliban was "intimately involved" in the failed Times Square bombing. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said the finding "underscores the serious threat that we face from a very determined enemy."The missile strikes Sunday were in North Waziristan, which has been the target of nearly all of the some 30 other American attacks this year.Two Pakistani intelligence officials said the two missiles hit the house of local tribesman Awal Gul in Enzer Kasa village of the Datta Khel area. Ten people were killed, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.Nine of those killed by the strike were insurgents, said a senior army official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.It was not immediately clear whether Gul had any ties to militant groups.Pakistan, a key US ally, officially protests the strikes on its territory as violations of its sovereignty, but it is believed to aid them. The US rarely discusses the unmanned-drone-fired strikes, which are part of a covert CIA program.In recent months, North Waziristan has become a new haven for Pakistani Taliban leaders who have fled a Pakistani army offensive in their previous stronghold, neighboring South Waziristan.The Pakistani Taliban, while linked to the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida, have primarily directed their attacks at targets inside Pakistan, making that militant group a priority for the country's army. Involvement in the Times Square plot would represent a significant show of strength for the organization, which has never attacked outside South Asia.Despite US pressure, the Pakistani army has held off on waging an offensive against other militant networks based in North Waziristan because it does not want to antagonize powerful insurgent groups there that have so far attacked only targets in Afghanistan.On Sunday morning, Pakistani army helicopters pounded insurgent hide-outs in the Orakzai tribal region, killing 23 militants, local official Jahanzeb Khan said.Pakistan security forces are carrying out an operation against insurgents who escaped the military offensive in South Waziristan. Some have taken refuge in the Orakzai tribal region, which lies next to North Waziristan, and other neighboring tribal areas.