.bmp)
.bmp)
ISLAMABAD-A suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles Wednesday at an alleged hide-out connected to a Taliban leader who has threatened to attack Washington, killing 14 people and wounding several others, officials said.The attack came a day after Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a police academy in the eastern city of Lahore, saying it was retaliation for U.S. missile strikes on militant strongholds along the Afghan border. Mehsud also vowed to launch an attack on Washington or even the White House in phone interviews with The Associated Press and local media.The FBI, however, said he had made similar threats previously and that there was no indication of anything imminent.A local intelligence official told The Associated Press that the compound attacked Wednesday in a remote area of the Orakzai tribal region near the Afghan border belonged to one of Mehsud's commanders.Up to 30 suspected militants were at the compound when it was hit, and the Taliban have moved the dead and injured to an undisclosed location, he said.The strike is believed to be the first in Orakzai, another sign the U.S. is expanding its attack zone.Since the U.S. escalated its missile campaign starting in August, most of the estimated three dozen strikes have landed in the North and South Waziristan tribal regions where Mehsud is strongest. However, those attacks appear to have primarily focused on al-Qaida hideouts.Mehsud's deputy Hakimullah Mehsud is in charge of Taliban operations in Orakzai. Late Wednesday, he called an AP reporter who has spoken to him before and is familiar with his voice, to threaten a revenge attack on Pakistan's capital."Very soon we will strike in Islamabad in a way that everyone there will feel pain," he said, adding that Pakistan's ruling lawmakers will be targets. "We will strike at the leadership, processions and public meetings of the ruling parties because they are also pro-U.S."The drone strike in Orakzai killed 14 people, said local official Ghazni Gul.Two senior intelligence officials said they believed the dead included close associates of Baitullah Mehsud.But it was difficult to confirm the exact identities of those involved because the Taliban surrounded the area shortly after the attack, they said....PICTURE:A US Predator drone flies over Kandahar, Afghanistan. A suspected US drone fired two missiles into an alleged Taliban and Al-Qaeda training centre in northwest Pakistan Wednesday, killing up to 12 militants, security officials said.(AFP/File/Joel Saget)
Associated Press writer Hussain Afzal in Parachinar, Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, and Riaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.
Associated Press writer Hussain Afzal in Parachinar, Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, and Riaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.
By MUNIR AHMAD--AP Writer
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
