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Obama ordered Waziristan airstrikes

* Guardian report says US commanders consulted president before Friday’s missile attacks

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: US President Barack Obama had given the go-ahead for Friday’s twin US missile strikes against suspected Al Qaeda men in the Tribal Areas, The Guardian reported on Saturday.

“Four days after assuming the presidency, he was consulted by US commanders before they launched the two attacks,” said a report on the newspaper’s website.

“The strikes will help Obama portray himself as a leader who, though ready to shift the balance of American power towards diplomacy, is not afraid of military action,” The Guardian reported.

Pakistan has repeatedly criticised the drone attacks saying they were counterproductive, and was hoping the new US administration would end the practice.

Meanwhile, the death toll from Friday’s attacks has risen to 22, officials and residents said. Eight suspected foreigners are among the dead. A senior security official said Pakistani authorities were trying to determine the seniority of Mustafa Al Misri, an Egyptian Al Qaeda operative believed to have been killed in one of the attacks.

Three intelligence officials told The Associated Press that funerals were held for nine Pakistani citizens killed in the attack on Zharki village in North Waziristan.

Citing reports from field agents and residents, they said Taliban had removed the bodies of five suspected foreigners who were also killed.

In another strike that hit a house in Gangi Khel village of South Waziristan, residents and security officials say eight people died. Resident Allah Noor Wazir said he attended funerals for the owner of the targeted house, Din Faraz, his three sons and a guest.

“I also heard that three bodies had been taken away by Taliban.” He told AP by telephone. “They say they were foreigners.” daily times monitor/agencies

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