PESHAWAR, April 4 (Reuters) - A pilotless U.S. drone aircraft fired a missile in northwest Pakistan today, killing 13 people including some foreign militants, security officials and residents said.
Hours later, Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baituallah Mehsud claimed responsibility for a shooting at a U.S. immigration centre in New York in which a gunman killed 13 people, saying it was revenge for U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan.
U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment about Mehsud's claim, and one Pakistani security analyst dismissed the claim as a publicity stunt.
The New York Times quoted representative Maurice Hinchey, whose district includes the town of Binghamton in New York state where the shooting took place, as saying indications were the gunman was an immigrant from Vietnam.
With the Afghan insurgency intensifying, the United States began launching more drone attacks on the Pakistani side of the border last year.
Since then, about 35 U.S. strikes have killed about 350 people, including mid-level al Qaeda members, according to reports from Pakistani officials, residents and militants. |
E-mail