US missile strike kills 10 in Pakistan

A US missile strike has killed two foreign militant suspects and eight Pakistanis near the Afghan border, two intelligence officials said today.

The overnight attack targeted the house of a local resident in Boya village near Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan.

US drones often hit suspected hideouts of militants in the troubled Pakistani tribal region, which Washington considers a centre for the remnants of Taliban, al Qaida and Pakistani insurgents.

The intelligence officials said a Filipino suspect was believed to be among those killed. They said their agents were still trying to get details about the second foreigner killed in the attack.

Five women and two children were also wounded in the attack, the officials said.

Pakistan publicly opposes the US drone strikes as a violation of its sovereignty, though it is suspected to assist in intelligence for targeting. The Pakistani government has asked Washington to instead provide it with the drone technology.

Meanwhile, Taliban fighters attacked Pakistani army troops near the Afghan border, killing two soldiers and wounding seven more, two intelligence officials said.

The attacks took place in the former Taliban headquarters of South Waziristan, where the army launched an offensive last autumn to sweep out militants.

The Taliban fired two missiles at an army checkpoint in Ladha, killing two soldiers and wounding another. They also attacked a military vehicle with a roadside bomb in Sararogha, wounding six soldiers.