Suspected U.S. strike kills three in Pak

A suspected U.S. missile strike killed three people on Saturday in a northwest Pakistani tribal region where militants focused on fighting the West in Afghanistan are concentrated, two Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The strike was apparently the latest in a lengthy campaign of such attacks by the U.S., which rarely discusses the covert programme but has in the past said it has taken out several top al-Qaeda operatives. Pakistan publicly opposes the strikes but is believed to secretly aid them.

Saturday’s strike occurred in the Babar Raghzai area of North Waziristan and also wounded two people, the officials said. The identities of the dead were not immediately clear. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to media on the record.

The area targeted is used by militants from two major factions that are battling U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan — the Haqqani network and the militants of warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur.

U.S. missile strikes in North Waziristan are sensitive largely because Pakistan has a truce with Bahadur. He agreed to stay on the sidelines as the Pakistani Army has waged an offensive in South Waziristan against the Pakistani Taliban, a group that has focused on attacking the Pakistani state.

Missile strikes on his territory could endanger that deal, analysts have said. However, in the past the U.S. has indicated it will not hesitate to launch the drone-fired missiles if it tracks down an important target.

The South Waziristan ground offensive was launched in mid-October, but many leaders of the Pakistani Taliban are believed to have fled to other parts of the lawless tribal belt — including North Waziristan and the Orakzai tribal regions.

The military has carried out airstrikes in Orakzai and may launch a wider offensive there in the coming weeks.

A statement from the military on Saturday said that a targeted airstrike at a compound in Orakzai had killed some civilians along with eight suspected militants.

“Military authorities have deeply regretted the loss of civilian lives,” said the statement. It said the families of the civilian victims would be compensated.

Information from the conflict zones is difficult to independently verify because of restricted access.

Also Saturday, a local government official said the Taliban had beheaded a tribal elder who fought against them in the Bajur tribal region. The remains of 45-year-old Gul Mohammad was found in Mamund town near a road, Faramosh Khan said.

A note from the Pakistani Taliban attached to the body accused the elder of spying on militants.

Earlier this year, Pakistan’s Army declared it had vanquished militants in Bajur after a six-month offensive.