In addition to a suicide bombing that killed 4 security officers, a suspected US missile strike killed an assumed foreign militant on Thursday. The missile strike took place in the South Waziristan region of Pakistan, and hit a house that is thought to be a likely hiding place for al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri. Two Pakistani intelligent officials said that the attack killed one foreign militant and injured another foreigner. The officials were asked if al Qaeda leaders had been hit, and they said that Arabs had been living in the house but their identities of the victims weren't clear. They said that the owner fled the region last year, and since then many Pakistani and foreign militants frequented the house. A taliban commander told CBS News that no one was injured in the attack that was of any importance. A resident of the area said that the saw a number of unmanned planes in the sky before and after three explosions destroyed the house. He said that despite seeing the smoke arising from the house, no one would go near it because the spy planes were still circuling over the area. US military are suspected to have launched over a dozen missle strikes against suspected targets since August. The US doesn't say much about the attacks on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan; they rarely confirm it or deny involvement. Pakistan is also stepping up its operations, and have responded to the US missile strikes with a line of bloody suicide attacks, including the bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel last month. Thursday's attack wrecked a police station in Swat. Police say they opened fire in their station after midnight with guns before the bomber exploded a vehicle beside the station. District police chief said that one officer and three paramilitary troops died, and 26 people were hurt, many of them being serious injuries.
It's doubtful that Pakistani security forces and US forces can target the Taliban and al Qaeda militants and defeat them without killing many civilians while doing so, and without deteriorating support for Pakistans pro-Western government. These security problems that Pakistan is facing are aggravating the governments economic problems, drastically increasing inflation and tremendously slowing the country's growth.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/16/world/main4525545.shtml?source=search_story
Brittney Nicola
10/17/08
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