Officials: US missiles kill 17 in Pakistan

MIR ALI, Pakistan (AP) — Two U.S. missile strikes pummeled targets inside the main sanctuary used by al-Qaida and the Taliban along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, killing 17 people Thursday, local intelligence officials said.

The latest drone attacks came amid the prospect of renewed political instability in Pakistan, with President Asif Ali Zardari facing calls for his resignation after the Supreme Court struck down an amnesty that had protected him and thousands of other political officials from corruption charges.

The national anti-graft agency said 247 people who had been covered by the amnesty were banned Thursday from leaving the country because investigations of them had been reopened. The list included Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, who told a local television station that immigration officials at the airport had barred him from boarding a plane to China. Zardari, who has presidential immunity from prosecution, was not on the list.

The missiles rained down Thursday on North Waziristan, a haven for many militants including groups determined to push the U.S. and NATO out of Afghanistan. The second, bloodier attack involved five drones and 10 missiles — an unusually intense bombardment, they said.