Reported U.S. Missile Strike Kills 6 Near Afghan Border
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suspected American missile strike near the Afghan border killed six people yesterday, Pakistani intelligence officials said, just after the top American military officer insisted that America respects Pakistani sovereignty.
The reported attack adds fuel to the furor in Pakistan over a surge in cross-border operations by American forces putting huge strain on the countries’ seven-year antiterror alliance.
Two intelligence officials told the Associated Press that several missiles hit a compound used by Taliban militants and Hezb-i-Islami, another group involved in escalating attacks on American and government troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
They said informants in the area had reported that six people were dead and three more wounded. Their identities were not immediately clear. One of the officials said an unmanned drone of the type used by the CIA and American forces in Afghanistan was heard in the area.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak openly to the press.
Captain Christian Patterson, a spokesman for the American-led coalition in Afghanistan, said he had no reports of any firing into Pakistan yesterday evening. Officials at the American Embassy in Islamabad could not be reached immediately. The White House declined to comment.
Hours earlier in the capital, Islamabad, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, met with Pakistani officials including its prime minister and the chief of the army, both of whom have aired strong protests against cross-border attacks.
According to a American Embassy statement, Mr. Mullen “reiterated the U.S. commitment to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and to develop further U.S.-Pakistani cooperation and coordination on these critical issues that challenge the security and well-being of the people of both countries.”
President Bush made a similar statement about Pakistan’s sovereignty in July after meeting the Pakistani premier, Yousuf Raza Gilani, in Washington.
Since then, suspected American missile attacks across the Afghan border into Pakistan have intensified, and on September 3, American forces staged a ground assault in South Waziristan, the same region reportedly hit yesterday.
