8 School Children Killed By US Army

(October 23, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) Missiles thought to have been fired by the US have killed at least eight students of a religious school in north-western Pakistan, witnesses say.

The school, in North Waziristan, is close to the residence of a fugitive Taleban leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani, witnesses told the BBC Urdu Service

At least two missiles, reportedly fired by pilotless US drones, hit the school early on Thursday.

The Pakistani army is investigating the incident. The US has made no comment.
The latest missile attack comes hours after the Pakistani parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the government to defend its sovereignty and expel foreign fighters from the region.

The resolution also called upon the government to prevent the use of Pakistani territory for attacks on another country.

Growing tension

Witnesses told the BBC that the missiles destroyed nearly half of the school building in the Dande Darpakhel area near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

At least six people were injured in the attack. It is still not clear whether there were any foreign fighters among the dead students.

Local people have said that most of the injured were local students at the seminary.

The residential complex of Jalaluddin Haqqani had been targeted by a previous missile attack, in which more than 10 people had been killed or injured.

North Waziristan is known as a haven for Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters seeking sanctuary from fighting in Afghanistan.

Foreign fighters from Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East are all thought to be based there.

In recent weeks the United States has launched several missile strikes against suspected militant targets in the Afghan border region.

Washington says the strikes are used against militant targets, correspondents say that intelligence failures have sometimes led to civilian casualties.

Figures compiled by the BBC Urdu service show that some 80 people have been killed in a number of suspected US missile strikes in South and North Waziristan region over the past month.

Earlier in October a suspected pilotless American drone fired missiles in North Waziristan, killing at least six people, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The United States rarely confirms or denies such attacks.

Tensions between the US and Pakistan have increased over the issue of cross-border incursions against militants by American forces based in Afghanistan.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said he will not tolerate violations of his country's territory.

The US state department has affirmed "its support for Pakistan's sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity"- BBC News.- Sri Lanka Guardian