Pakistan on Saturday condemned a purported CIA airstrike that officials said unsuccessfully targeted &to=http://english.pravda.ru/columnists/2002/09/04/35994.html' target=_blank>al-Qaida's No. 2 man while killing at least 17 people in a village near the Afghan border.
In a strain on the U.S.-Pakistan alliance in the war on terrorism, Pakistani frustrations appeared to be growing over a series of attacks along the frontier that have not been explained but are widely suspected of targeting Islamic militants.
&to=http://english.pravda.ru/war/2003/03/07/44136.html' target=_blank>Pakistan, which has tens of thousands of its own forces hunting al-Qaida militants, says it won't let any U.S. forces in Afghanistan cross the border in pursuit of terror suspects or open fire into Pakistan.
The Foreign Ministry protested to U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker over what it described as the "loss of innocent civilian lives" in Friday's strike in the northwestern tribal region of Bajur. Thousands of tribesmen staged angry street demonstrations in the area Saturday and a mob set fire to the office of a U.S.-backed aid agency.
The U.S. government has yet to comment on reports carried by U.S. networks and confirmed by Pakistani officials that a CIA-operated Predator drone aircraft had launched missiles targeting Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant, at a residential compound in the village of Damadola.
Two senior Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity, told The Associated Press that Pakistan's own assessment was that the CIA had acted on incorrect information.
A senior intelligence official said that Pakistani agents had been informed by the CIA, but only after the strike. A senior government official said al-Zawahri "was not there", reports AP.
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