PESHAWAR (AFP) — A suspected US missile strike on an Islamist training camp in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan killed at least 10 militants, officials said on Wednesday.
Four missiles slammed into two buildings in the camp in Baghar village in the troubled district of South Waziristan on Tuesday night, a senior security official told AFP.
"At least 10 militants were killed in the strikes," the official said. He did not specify whether they were from the Taliban or Al-Qaeda, both of which operate in the area.
"This is their work," he said, referring to US-led coalition forces deployed across the border in Afghanistan.
In Kabul, the US military said the missiles were not fired by either NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) or the US-led coalition.
"This is not true. We have no reports of missiles being fired into Pakistan," US-led coalition spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Perry told AFP.
The US Central Intelligence Agency is also known to operate pilotless drone aircraft armed with missiles, but it was not available for comment.
The Pakistani security official said foreign militants were reported to be in the camp. Pakistani officials frequently use the term foreigners to refer to militants from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
"There were reports about presence of Arab, Turkmen and local militants in the two hideouts, run by a local commander, Zanjir Wazir," the official said.
It was not clear whether Wazir was in the camp when the missiles struck.
Witnesses said the missile strike destroyed two houses close to each other and rescue workers were seen removing debris amid fears that more people could be trapped inside.
Local militants cordoned off the area and journalists were not allowed access to the site. Residents said the houses were part of a militant training camp.
Al-Qaeda chemical and biological weapons expert Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar was killed in a similar missile strike in July.
The Egyptian, 54, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, had a five-million dollar bounty on his head and allegedly ran terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has protested over a wave of missile strikes attributed to US-led forces in Afghanistan in recent months which have killed dozens of people.
During talks with US President George W. Bush last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called on the United States not to act "unilaterally" against Islamic militants in Pakistan.
Gilani, whose new government has been facing intense US pressure to crack down on Pakistan-based militants, said that Islamabad was committed to fighting extremists.
The government launched negotiations with the Taliban earlier this year but has since launched several military operations, including an ongoing offensive in the Bajaur tribal region which has left more than 160 people dead in a week.
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