Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
October 2, 2008
If it was a U.S. strike, as suspected, it would be the first since Pakistan warned allies.
By Munir Ahmad, Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A suspected U.S. missile strike on a Taliban commander's home in Pakistan killed six people, officials said yesterday, a possible indication that Washington was moving ahead with cross-border raids despite protests from the new government.
The attack was the first since President Asif Ali Zardari warned that its territory cannot "be violated by our friends."
U.S. forces recently ramped up cross-border operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists in Pakistan's border zone with Afghanistan, a region considered a likely hiding place for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Late Tuesday, missiles fired by a U.S. drone aircraft struck the Taliban commander's home near Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan, said two intelligence officials, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. Citing reports from their field agents, the officials said six people died, but they did not identify any of the victims.
U.S. officials in Afghanistan or Washington rarely acknowledge the attacks.
Pakistan says the attacks often result in civilian casualties and serve to fan extremism. American officials complain that Pakistan is unwilling or unable to act against the extremists.
Extremists in the border region are blamed for rising attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan and attacks within Pakistan, including the Sept. 20 truck bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed more than 50 people.
In Spain, a document marked confidential and bearing the official seal of Spain's Defense Ministry alleged that Pakistan's spy agency helped arm Taliban insurgents in 2005 for assassination plots against Afghan government officials.
Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, chief spokesman for Pakistan's army, said the report was "baseless, unfounded, and part of a malicious, well-orchestrated propaganda campaign to malign" the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency.
"ISI is the first line of defense of Pakistan, and certain quarters are attempting to weaken our national intelligence system," Abbas said, without elaborating.
The document, which surfaced just after Pakistan's military chief chose a new head of the spy agency, also alleged that Pakistan may have provided training and intelligence to the Taliban in camps set up on Pakistani soil.
The report, which was obtained by Cadena Ser radio and posted on the station's Web site yesterday, said the spy agency helped the Taliban procure explosives to use in attacks against vehicles.
Pakistan vehemently denies that members of the spy agency have aided the Taliban. In the 1990s, however, the ISI's agents helped build up the Taliban.
U.S. intelligence agencies suspect rogue elements of the spy agency may still be giving Taliban extremists sensitive information to aid their insurgency in Afghanistan, even though officially Pakistan is a U.S. ally in fighting terrorism.
October 2, 2008
If it was a U.S. strike, as suspected, it would be the first since Pakistan warned allies.
By Munir Ahmad, Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A suspected U.S. missile strike on a Taliban commander's home in Pakistan killed six people, officials said yesterday, a possible indication that Washington was moving ahead with cross-border raids despite protests from the new government.
The attack was the first since President Asif Ali Zardari warned that its territory cannot "be violated by our friends."
U.S. forces recently ramped up cross-border operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists in Pakistan's border zone with Afghanistan, a region considered a likely hiding place for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Late Tuesday, missiles fired by a U.S. drone aircraft struck the Taliban commander's home near Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan, said two intelligence officials, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. Citing reports from their field agents, the officials said six people died, but they did not identify any of the victims.
U.S. officials in Afghanistan or Washington rarely acknowledge the attacks.
Pakistan says the attacks often result in civilian casualties and serve to fan extremism. American officials complain that Pakistan is unwilling or unable to act against the extremists.
Extremists in the border region are blamed for rising attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan and attacks within Pakistan, including the Sept. 20 truck bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed more than 50 people.
In Spain, a document marked confidential and bearing the official seal of Spain's Defense Ministry alleged that Pakistan's spy agency helped arm Taliban insurgents in 2005 for assassination plots against Afghan government officials.
Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, chief spokesman for Pakistan's army, said the report was "baseless, unfounded, and part of a malicious, well-orchestrated propaganda campaign to malign" the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency.
"ISI is the first line of defense of Pakistan, and certain quarters are attempting to weaken our national intelligence system," Abbas said, without elaborating.
The document, which surfaced just after Pakistan's military chief chose a new head of the spy agency, also alleged that Pakistan may have provided training and intelligence to the Taliban in camps set up on Pakistani soil.
The report, which was obtained by Cadena Ser radio and posted on the station's Web site yesterday, said the spy agency helped the Taliban procure explosives to use in attacks against vehicles.
Pakistan vehemently denies that members of the spy agency have aided the Taliban. In the 1990s, however, the ISI's agents helped build up the Taliban.
U.S. intelligence agencies suspect rogue elements of the spy agency may still be giving Taliban extremists sensitive information to aid their insurgency in Afghanistan, even though officially Pakistan is a U.S. ally in fighting terrorism.