'Those killed were innocent woodcutters'

Zamzola: Tribesmen from a Pakistani mountain village where an airstrike hit a suspected Al Qaida hideout recently claimed yesterday missiles were fired from an American plane and denied the dead were terrorists.

Locals were still digging through the rubble of homes destroyed in the Tuesday airstrike on Zamzola village in South Waziristan, where Pakistan's army said its helicopter gunships killed eight suspected foreign militants.

"This is a pack of lies," said Jalandhar Khan, 40, holding a shovel near the ruins of a neighbour's ruined house. "There was no Al Qaida man. Those killed or injured in this attack by America were innocent woodcutters."

Reporters were taken to Zamzola, a remote village tucked in the forest about three kilometres from the Afghan border, by supporters of Baitullah Mehsud, a local pro-Taliban militant leader, who has vowed to avenge the airstrike.

About 70 tribesmen shouted slogans against President General Pervez Musharraf and US President George W. Bush.

Body parts still littered the ruins of three wrecked compounds, and two unexploded missiles were half buried near two others. The provenance of the missiles wasn't clear. One was labelled 'AM York 0873'. "I swear that innocent people died here," another villager, Bashir Mehsud, 70, said. "God would punish Bush and Musharraf for it."

Mehsud said he was at home preparing for his morning Islamic prayers when he heard the drone of a plane.

"I saw one American plane. It fired five missiles and went away," he said. It wasn't clear how he knew it was American. He said that 15 minutes after the attack, five Pakistani helicopters arrived and started firing at the destroyed homes.

Shortly after the attack, Mehsud said he saw mutilated and burned bodies. The wounded were taken to a local hospital, he said.

An associate of the militant leader, Baitullah Mehsud, vowed they would respond to the attack. "We would do it, you would see it," said Hakim Ullah, 22, without elaborating.

Pakistani army officials were not immediately available for comment. Zamzola is not far from North Waziristan, where Pakistan reached a controversial September peace deal with pro-Taliban militants. Fighting has also tailed off in South Waziristan where tribesmen say militants also wield great influence.

Critics say the deal has given a free rein to militants, and provides them a base for attacks into Afghanistan against US and Nato forces.

Pakistan disputes that, saying the deal has brought more stability to the lawless region and it can still strike at terrorists.