Missile strikes kill 7 likely militants in Taliban region

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Suspected U.S. missiles killed seven people in a Pakistani Taliban stronghold Sunday, officials said, while an attack on a military convoy and a cleric’s two-week deadline for the creation of Islamic courts rattled peace talks with militants elsewhere in the country’s northwest.

The missile strike underscored the Obama administration’s unwillingness to abandon a Bush-era tactic said to have killed several key al-Qaida figures, despite persistent Pakistani protests. The Muslim nation has used both peace pacts and military offensives to deal with insurgents along its border with Afghanistan, and it warns that the missile attacks dent civilian support for its actions.

The missiles landed in Murghiban village in the South Waziristan tribal region and also wounded three people, two Pakistani intelligence officials said. At least four of the dead were believed to be foreign militants, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

They said drones believed to be used by the U.S. were seen in the air ahead of the strike and that Taliban fighters surrounded the damaged stronghold afterward. The compound was allegedly a militant training facility, the officials said, citing field informants.

The U.S. has dramatically stepped up its missile attacks on al-Qaida and Taliban targets in Pakistan’s northwest since mid-2008, a policy that has not changed under new President Barack Obama. Pakistan insists the strikes inflame anti-American sentiment and often kill civilians, though many analysts speculate the two countries have a secret deal allowing them.

Pakistan has also turned to peace talks to deal with some insurgent groups, much to Washington’s consternation.

Last month, Pakistan agreed to implement Islamic law in the Swat Valley, a former tourist haven where militants have gained tremendous sway. The Swat Taliban and the military also agreed to a cease-fire after months of fighting that has killed hundreds and displaced up to one-third of the valley’s 1.5 million residents.

American and European officials worry that the talks could turn Swat into a sanctuary for Taliban fighters. Swat is less than 100 miles from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. It also is near tribal regions where al-Qaida and the Taliban have strongholds.

The provincial government in northwestern Pakistan made the pledge to establish Islamic courts in Swat and surrounding areas to Sufi Muhammad, a pro-Taliban cleric who agreed to then negotiate with the Swat Taliban, who are headed by his son-in-law. He himself heads a group that has long pushed for Islamic law in parts of the northwest.

Muhammad set a March 15 deadline for the Islamic courts to start running.