U.S. missiles killed 25 people in an al-Qaida and Taliban sanctuary close to the Afghan border on Friday, Pakistani officials said, signaling American intent to press ahead with such attacks despite renewed protests by Islamabad.
In another reminder of the difficulties facing Washington, a well-known politician said he and his followers would try to "blockade" NATO supplies that pass through Pakistan en route to Afghanistan over the weekend to protest the strikes.
Some of the missile victims were militants loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadar, a commander known to stage attacks against foreign troops in Afghanistan, but two women and five children were also killed, the officials said. There was no immediate way to verify that information independently because access to the border area is forbidden.
The U.S. has been regularly firing missiles into the border region for 2 1/2 years now, but does not formally acknowledge the CIA-run program. U.S. officials rarely comment on specific strikes, but have said in general terms that they accurately hit militants.
American silence means the usual sources of information about the strikes are Pakistani intelligence officials, who are forbidden to give their names to the media.
The officials said up to 10 missiles destroyed a compound in Spinwam village in North Waziristan, home to militants targeting American and NATO troops just across the border
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