U.S. Missiles Blamed for 18 Deaths on Pakistan Border
Zeeshan Haider
Reuters.uk, UK
Islamabad (Pakistan):
_________________
A Pakistani security official and residents of a border region said U.S. aircraft from Afghanistan killed 18 people, including women and children, when they fired missiles at pro-Taliban Islamists early on Friday.
Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said up to 14 people had been killed in several blasts but he said he did not know the cause.A U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry O'Hara, said there were no reports of U.S. forces operating in the area.
The blasts in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region on the Afghan border came just days after Pakistan lodged a strong protest with U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, saying cross-border firing in the nearby Waziristan area last weekend killed eight people.
Residents of Bajaur, opposite Afghanistan's insurgent-troubled Kunar province, said the explosions were caused by firing from unidentified aircraft on the village of Damadola at about 3 a.m. (10:00 p.m. British time,Thursday).
Jan 13, 2006
Zeeshan Haider
Reuters.uk, UK
Islamabad (Pakistan):
_________________
A Pakistani security official and residents of a border region said U.S. aircraft from Afghanistan killed 18 people, including women and children, when they fired missiles at pro-Taliban Islamists early on Friday.
Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said up to 14 people had been killed in several blasts but he said he did not know the cause.A U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry O'Hara, said there were no reports of U.S. forces operating in the area.
The blasts in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region on the Afghan border came just days after Pakistan lodged a strong protest with U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, saying cross-border firing in the nearby Waziristan area last weekend killed eight people.
Residents of Bajaur, opposite Afghanistan's insurgent-troubled Kunar province, said the explosions were caused by firing from unidentified aircraft on the village of Damadola at about 3 a.m. (10:00 p.m. British time,Thursday).
Jan 13, 2006
