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Islamabad: Pakistani intelligence agents on Friday were investigating the identities of up to eight foreigners believed killed in a suspected US missile strike close to the Afghan border.
The attack appeared to be part of a surge in alleged US assaults from Afghanistan on suspected militant targets in Pakistan that have strained ties between the two anti-terror allies.
The attack came a day after twin bombings targeting police, one in the capital and one in the northwest, killed 10 people and wounded 14, underscoring the threat posed by Islamist militants in nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Frustration
The missile strike took place late on Thursday on a house in North Waziristan tribal region, according to two intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"Between six to eight foreigners were killed in the attack, but we don't know whether they were from Al Qaida and what was the purpose of their presence in the area," a third intelligence official from Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, said yesterday.
Pakistan military officials were not immediately available for comment on the strike, while US Defence Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said she had no information.
Sovereignty
Al Qaida and Taliban militants have used Pakistan's tribal areas as bases from which to attack US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, spurring US frustration with Pakistan.
The tribal regions also are considered potential hiding places for Al Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, his deputy Ayman Al Zawahiri and other non-Pakistani militants.
Pakistani officials have protested that such strikes violate the nation's sovereignty.
The US rarely acknowledges such missile strikes.
Some of the strikes are believed to be carried out by the CIA, which is said to use Predator drones.
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