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Dera Ismail Khan: Militants on Saturday buried the bodies of Arab comrades who were among at least 20 people killed when suspected US missiles hit a house near the Afghan border, Pakistani officials said.
The United States has launched a flurry of strikes in recent weeks against suspected Al Qaida and Taliban targets in northwestern Pakistan, straining ties between the two anti-terror allies.
Pakistan has been unable or unwilling to eliminate militant sanctuaries blamed for rising violence on both sides of the border. The frontier region is believed to be a possible hiding place for Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman Al Zawahri.
The latest strike reportedly took place on Friday in Mohammadkhel, a village in the North Waziristan region. The area is a stronghold of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a veteran Taliban commander whom US generals count among their most dangerous foes.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials, citing reports from field agents and informants, said 14 Taliban militants and eight Arabs died in the attack about 45 kilometres west of Miran Shah, the region's main town.
Six of the Arabs were buried in the village on Saturday morning, while militants took the other two bodies to an undisclosed location, they said.
The officials said they had no information indicating that any senior militant leader was killed.
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