Missile Kills 5 in Northwest Pakistan; U.S. Denies Attack

[unhappycamper]

Missile Kills 5 in Northwest Pakistan; U.S. Denies Attack
By ISMAIL KHAN
Published: November 3, 2007

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov. 2 — A missile fired from an unmanned aerial drone killed five militants and wounded six other people in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas on Friday, according to a Pakistani security official and a local resident.

The United States has used drones to carry out attacks on militants in the area in the past, but in Washington, a Pentagon spokesman denied that the American military was involved in a strike, Reuters reported. A spokesman for the Central Intelligence Agency, which operates drones as well, declined to comment.

The missile killed the militants inside a compound near a large madrasa, or religious school, that was established by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a Taliban commander with close ties to Osama bin Laden, the security official said. The strike took place in a village outside Miran Shah, the administrative center of the North Waziristan tribal area.

The compound served as a safe house for Islamic fighters crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and was owned by a militant leader from Waziristan, according to the official. Villagers said the drone had fired two missiles, one that exploded inside the compound and another that failed to detonate.

American officials have denied operating drones inside Pakistan, but after previous strikes, local residents and militants have produced missile fragments with American markings. Some strikes have killed senior militants, while others have killed large numbers of civilians.


Rest of article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/world/asia/03drone.html?ref=world

[hobbit709]

1. Just who else has missile carrying drones in the area?

If you hear gunshots and rush into the room, see a body and someone with the smoking gun; are you going to believe that person when he says somebody else did it.

[Eagle_Eye]

2. The description of the explosion indicated something more powerful than an Hellfire missile

from:
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=3156492&C=asiapac

“A drone was flying very low and fired the missile. It destroyed three houses,” a resident of Dandi Darpakheil village told Reuters. “I have seen human flesh scattered all over the area near the houses.”

"The latest explosion rocked Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, two kilometers (1 mile) away.
“It shook Miranshah. Many people came out of their shops in panic,” one man said."

Of course the missile could have caused secondary detonations of hidden explosives.

I liked the Pentagon's response:

“There was no indication that that was any U.S. military asset,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said after speaking with U.S. military officials in Afghanistan. “Every indication was that there was no U.S. military involvement in this activity that you’ve seen.”
Asked if the strike could have been launched by aircraft owned by another U.S. agency, such as an intelligence agency, Whitman said he did not speak for other agencies.
“I only talk for the United States military,” he said.

Translated to: We checked our records and determined that it was not us.

Yeah, right.