Suspected US commandos kill 20 in S Waziristan raid

* Military says Pakistan reserves right to retaliate
* ISAF unaware of attack in Angoor Adda, Pentagon declines comment
* Pakistani embassy in Washington blames ‘faulty intelligence’

WANA: Suspected US commandos killed 20 civilians “including women and children” on Wednesday in a raid in a remote South Waziristan village, officials said.

NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said three helicopter gunships and commandos were involved in the pre-dawn attack on a house in the Jala Khel village in the Birmal area, 30 kilometres west of Wana.

Witnesses in Angoor Adda, the last Pakistani town near the Afghan border, said that troops entered the house of a local tribesman, opened fire and threw a bomb in the house. Online said a Pakistani checkpost is situated only 300 metres from the site. Residents of the village told Reuters the foreign troops detained some people.

Retaliation: An ISPR statement said Pakistan Army had lodged a protest with the Office of the Defence Representative in Pakistan (ODRP) and said Pakistan reserved the right of retaliation. “Such actions are counterproductive and certainly do not help our joint efforts to fight terrorism,” the Foreign Ministry said.

ISAF and Pentagon: A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) told AFP he had no word of such a raid, and that the force does not have a mandate to attack outside the borders of Afghanistan unless its troops come under fire from within Pakistan. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to comment.

Faulty intelligence: Nadeem Kiani, spokesman for the Pakistani embassy in Washington, told Reuters the attack was a result of faulty intelligence. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack. hafeezullah wazir/agencies

Home | Main