Suspected US missiles kill 16 militants in Pakistan's troubled South Waziristan tribal region

Published July 23, 2010

| Associated Press

SLAMABAD (AP) — U.S. missiles hit a suspected militant hide-out, killing 16 insurgents in a troubled Pakistani tribal region along the Afghan border before dawn Saturday, intelligence officials said.

The strike came as the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, was in Pakistan. Mullen was expected to see Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who was recently granted a three-year term extension in what some have welcomed as a sign of continuity in Pakistan's battle against Islamist extremists.

The six missiles struck a compound in the Nazai Narai area of South Waziristan. The hide-out was known to be frequented by foreign fighters who were among the dead, two intelligence officials said.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to go on the record, said agents were trying to get more details about the identities and nationalities of the dead.

Army spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.>>>