The death toll from two suspected U.S. missile strikes along the Afghan border in Pakistan is rising.
Pakistani
officials say Saturday at least 21 people were killed in the attacks
Friday in the country's northwestern tribal regions.
The
officials say a suspected U.S. drone (unmanned aircraft) fired three
missiles into a house in a village, Zharki, outside Mir Ali, in North
Waziristan province.
Local officials say five of those killed
were foreign militants. The area is considered a hub for al-Qaida and
Taliban activity.
Hours later, a second missile strike hit neighboring South Waziristan.
There
have been about 30 similar missile attacks in Pakistan since the middle
of last year despite public objections by the Pakistani government.
These are the first such strikes since U.S. President Barack Obama took
office on Tuesday. The Bush administration refused to confirm or deny
responsibility for such strikes.
In an interview with CNN
television on Friday, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said
public opinion in Pakistan was very much against the missile strikes,
but that he expected nothing different from the new U.S. president.
He
also said Pakistan should have received more U.S. funding for helping
in the war on terror, saying the $10 billion it received from
the U.S. was much less than the U.S. has spent in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Also
Friday, the Pakistani foreign ministry welcomed Mr. Obama's appointment
Thursday of a new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard
Holbrooke.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
