U.S. missile hits Taliban village; 7 dead

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — A suspected U.S. missile killed seven people in a Taliban stronghold in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, officials said, while a hard-line cleric rattled peace efforts elsewhere by demanding the government launch Islamic courts within two weeks.

The developments showed the mercurial state of the fight against insurgents in Pakistan’s regions bordering Afghanistan, where the country is pursuing both peace talks and military offensives, and where the Obama administration appears more than willing to flex U.S. muscle despite official Pakistani protests.

The missiles landed in Murghiban village in the South Waziristan tribal region and also wounded three people, two Pakistani intelligence officials said. At least four of the dead were believed to be foreign militants, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

They said that drones believed to be used by the United States were seen in the air ahead of the strike and that Taliban fighters surrounded the damaged center afterward. The compound was allegedly a militant training facility, the officials said, citing field informants.

South Waziristan is the main stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud, the top leader of the Pakistani Taliban.

The United States has dramatically stepped up its missile attacks on al Qaeda and Taliban targets in Pakistan’s northwest since mid-2008, a policy that has not changed under President Obama and that officials say has killed several key al Qaeda figures.

Pakistan has condemned the strikes, saying they inflame anti-American sentiment especially when they kill civilians, but many analysts speculate the two countries have a secret deal allowing the attacks.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday that he would not talk about the specifics of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan or Pakistan when asked on “Fox News Sunday” about the alleged strike. He said, however, that the military overall was “carrying out guidance from President Obama” in the region.

Muslim-majority Pakistan also has turned to peace talks to try pacifying the insurgency in its northwest, much to the dismay of Washington and other Western capitals.

Last month, Pakistan agreed to implement Islamic law in the Swat Valley, a former tourist haven where militants have gained tremendous sway. The Swat Taliban and the military also agreed to a cease-fire, halting months of fighting that has killed hundreds and displaced up to one-third of the valley’s 1.5 million residents.

American and European officials worry that the talks could turn Swat into a sanctuary for Taliban fighters. Swat lies less than 100 miles from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. It also is near tribal regions where al Qaeda and the Taliban have strongholds, but where the Pakistani military is waging separate offensives.

The provincial government in northwestern Pakistan made the pledge to establish Islamic courts in Swat and surrounding areas to Sufi Muhammad, a pro-Taliban cleric who agreed to then negotiate with the Swat Taliban. Mr. Muhammad’s son-in-law heads the Swat Taliban, and he himself heads a movement that has long agitated for Islamic law.

He said Sunday that it did not appear the government was holding up its end of the bargain.

“I’m not seeing any practical steps for the implementation of the peace agreement, except for ministers visiting Swat and uttering words,” the elderly cleric told reporters in the valley’s main city of Mingora.

Mr. Muhammad set a March 15 deadline for the Islamic courts to start running. He also said that the Taliban and the government should release each other’s prisoners by the same date and that both sides should immediately abide by an agreement that includes no public displays of weapons.

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