US drone attack kills 47 in Miranshah

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD (updated on: September 09, 2009, 02:49 PST): At least 47 people, many of them Taliban, but also four schoolchildren, were killed on Tuesday in ongoing internal violence in tribal region that borders Afghanistan. An unmanned aircraft, suspected to be US operated, fired two missiles late Tuesday at a militant hideout in the Dargamandi area, some seven kilometres north-west of Miranshah, the main town in tribal district of North Waziristan.

"The locals have so far pulled out nine bodies and four injured from the debris so far," said an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Almost all of those killed are Taliban fighters." It was the second consecutive US drone attack in North Waziristan in as many days. On Monday, the similar strike killed five Uzbek militants who had links with al Qaeda terrorist organisation.

Separately, a gunman with suspected Taliban links opened fire on a group of students in the Utman Khel area of tribal Orakzai district earlier in the day, killing at least four of them. The attack came as the students were walking to school, said an official in the district's administration.

"Four students were fatally shot while three others suffered bullet wounds," said Asmatullah, who identified himself with a single name. Aaj News television channel reported that the militants wanted to kidnap the students. At least two were seized.

The assault triggered a gunfight between the militants and a pro- government militia, which was raised to resist the Taliban insurgency. One attacker was killed and three others injured in that clash. Later on the day jets pounded militants' position in the district and killed nine rebels. Several more were injured.

In the neighbouring Khyber tribal district, 24 militants died when gunship helicopters targeted their dens. "Security forces also destroyed two militant headquarters, two hideouts and two vehicles," said a statement from the paramilitary Frontier Corps.

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