Drone missile strikes claim 17 lives

Islamabad: US missiles struck a training facility operated by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a militant communication centre on Friday, killing 17 people and wounding 27 others, intelligence officials said.

The two attacks by drone aircraft took place in South Waziristan, a Mehsud stronghold close to the Afghan border where Pakistani troops are gearing up for a military offensive, two officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

They took place as US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met government officials in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. She discussed topics of "mutual interest" with them, a US Embassy spokesman said.

The drone attacks were the latest in a string of more than 40 believed to have been be carried out by the US against militant targets in the border area since last August.

Washington does not directly acknowledge being responsible for the attacks, which kill civilians as well as militants. Most Pakistanis criticise the drone attacks, and Islamabad officially protests them as violations of its sovereignty.

Still, most experts believe the government secretly approves of them and likely provides the US with intelligence.

However, Maulvi Noor Syed, an aide to Mehsud, said that three Taliban fighters died in the strikes.

"We lost only three mujahideen [holy warriors] in today's American missile attack," Syed said. "These attacks cannot cause any damage to us."

Access to the rugged, dangerous region is strictly controlled, and the death toll could not be independently verified.