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Missiles Kill 30 In Pakistan

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Los Angeles Times

Published: February 15, 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Suspected U.S. missiles slammed into a compound near the Afghan border Saturday, killing about 30 people, local officials said. Most of the dead were thought to be militants linked to the Taliban or al-Qaida.

The raid came two days after U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., perhaps inadvertently, made the first public disclosure by a senior U.S. official that the CIA-operated drones used in such attacks are flown from bases inside Pakistan, not from across the border in Afghanistan.

The missile attacks have been problematic for Pakistan's struggling civilian government. The Pakistani leadership is thought to have given a go-ahead for the raids, although it publicly denounces them.

The wrecked compound belonged to an associate of Baitullah Mahsud, the leader of Pakistan's Taliban movement, and was not far from Mahsud's headquarters. Mahsud he was not thought to have been at the compound, and it was unclear whether he was the intended target.

The comments about the Predator strikes last week by Feinstein could inflame domestic anger against the Pakistani government. Senior U.S. officials have defended the missile strikes as an effective tool against al-Qaida, saying that important figures have been killed in the raids.

The drone attacks also have killed scores of Pakistani civilians and many people consider them a violation of the country's sovereignty.

Some people in Pakistan had wondered whether the Obama administration would discontinue the strikes that began under President George W. Bush, but a raid took place only three days after his swearing-in. Obama himself has said publicly that decisive measures are needed to dislodge militants from the tribal areas.

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