US missile strikes kill over 40 Taliban in Pakistan (1st Lead)

Islamabad - More than 40 people were killed Wednesday in two separate strikes by US pilotless aircraft on Taliban in Pakistan's ungoverned tribal region near Afghan border, security officials said. Five missiles fired allegedly by a US drone targeted a motor convoy of Islamist insurgents in Sararogha area of South Waziristan, a safe haven of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters launching cross border attacks on US-led international forces in Afghanistan. 'At least 30 Taliban died in the deadly attack and dozens more were injured. The missile strike also destroyed five vehicles of Taliban,' said a local intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'The death toll could rise as high as 50.' The attack came hours after US Predator drones targeted a hilltop militant hideout near the Karwan Manza village in the restive South Waziristan in a pre-dawn assault. 'Ten militants have been confirmed dead and another three wounded in the strike on the Taliban position,' another intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. All those killed in the two attacks were fighters of the top Pakistani Taliban commander and al-Qaeda facilitator, Baitullah Mehsud. It was not immediately clear whether there were any foreign militants among the dead. The US has carried out more than 40 drone strikes in Pakistan's north-western region this year, killing dozens of Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels. Pakistani security forces are preparing for a decisive offensive against Mehsud and his loyalists, who are blamed for nearly 90 per cent of terrorist attacks in the country during last two years. Limited airstrikes have been carried out by Pakistani jets in recent weeks to soften up Taliban defences, while ground troops have secured land routes ahead of the main onslaught. Pakistan has protested the US drone attacks, saying they complicated its efforts against militancy by fuelling anti-American sentiments in the country.