Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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September 8, 2008

Suspected US Missile Strike Hits Taliban Commander's House
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Witnesses say missile strike hit home of Jalaluddin Haqqani, killing 10,
including some foreigners 
Residents in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area say a suspected
U.S. missile strike hit a house and a seminary linked to a top Taliban
commander, killing at least 10 people. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from
Islamabad the strike comes as Asif Ali Zardari prepares to be sworn in
as Pakistan's president on Tuesday. Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani speaks
with a group of newsmen in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad
(File)Witnesses said the apparent missile strike hit a home of longtime
militant leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, who U.S. military officials say
oversees one of the deadliest Taliban networks in Afghanistan. Locals
said some foreigners were among the dead. Since the end of August, there
have been at least five reported missile strikes against targets in
North and South Waziristan as well as a suspected U.S.-led raid on a
Pakistani village near the Afghan border. The reported operations
indicate a sharp increase in U.S. and NATO attacks against suspected
militants inside Pakistan, just as the country's new government prepares
to replace former President Pervez Musharraf. Missile strikes have
traditionally provoked an outpouring of public resentment that
Musharraf's political opponents used to help drive him from power. But
Pakistan's former ambassador to Afghanistan, Rustam Shah Mohmand, says
many of those opponents are now seated in the new government - giving it
broader political support and fewer high-profile critics. "I think the
government really is not concerned much about the domestic fallout
because there is no leader who would challenge its position or who would
rally people around him and launch a country-wide protest. So the
coalition forces, the Americans, are taking full advantage of the
situation where there is a sort of vacuum as far as leadership is
concerned," he said. The government has lodged protests with U.S
officials over the strikes, but Mohmand says officials have also
reconciled themselves that the missile operations will continue.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's incoming president, Asif Al
i Zardari, has reached out to Afghanistan's leader following months of
tension between the two countries over the Taliban insurgency. Afghan
President Hamid Karzai is expected to be among the invited guests at Mr.
Zardari's presidential swearing in ceremony in Islamabad on Tuesday.