Officials say suspected US missile kills 2 foreigners, 8 Pakistanis near Afghan border

Suspected US missile kills 10 in NW Pakistan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — An overnight U.S. missile strike killed two foreign militant suspects and eight Pakistanis near the Afghan border, two intelligence officials said Saturday.

The attack late Friday targeted the house of a local resident in Boya village near Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan.

U.S. drones often hit suspected hide-outs of militants in troubled Pakistani tribal region, which Washington considers a center for the remnants of Taliban, al-Qaida and Pakistani insurgents.

The intelligence officials said a Filipino suspect was believed to be among the slain men. They said their agents were still trying to get details about the second foreigner killed in the attack. The officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Five women and two children also were wounded in the attack, the officials said.

Pakistan publicly opposes the U.S. drone strikes as a violation of its sovereignty, though it is suspected to assist in intelligence for targeting. The Pakistani government has asked Washington to instead provide it with the drone technology.

Also on Saturday, Taliban fighters attacked Pakistani army troops near the Afghan border, killing two soldiers and wounding seven more, two intelligence officials said.

The attacks took place in the former Taliban headquarters of South Waziristan, where the army launched an offensive last fall to sweep out militants.

The Taliban fired two missiles at an army checkpoint in Ladha, killing two soldiers and wounding another. They also attacked a military vehicle with a roadside bomb in Sararogha, wounding six soldiers.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to media.

Independent confirmation is impossible because the lawless tribal region is inaccessible to media.