AP report
Damadola (Pakistan), Jan 14: A pre-dawn air strike killed at least 17 people in a remote Pakistani tribal area on Friday, and US news networks said American jets were targeting a suspected al-Qaeda hideout that may have been frequented by high-level operatives, possibly the No. 2 leader. There was no confirmation from either the Pakistani or US government.
Citing unnamed US intelligence officials, the reports said that Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant, could have been in the location or about to arrive when a US aircraft fired on a compound in the Bajur area. ABC quoted anonymous Pakistani military sources as saying he could have been among five top al-Qaeda officials believed killed.
In Pakistan, the military only confirmed to The Associated Press that there had been explosions in a remote border village, but could not confirm the cause or casualties. The spokesman for President General Pervez Musharraf said the incident was still being investigated.
"I am not in a position to say yes or no. We know that media is reporting it, but we have no such information, or any details. We are still investigating this matter," Major General Shaukat Sultan said on Saturday.
A senior Pakistani intelligence official told AP that he had no information that a top al-Qaeda figure had been targeted in the strike.
In Washington, Pentagon, State Department, National Security Council and intelligence officials all said they had no information on the reports concerning al-Zawahri.
An AP reporter who visited the scene about 12 hours after what villagers said was an air strike saw three destroyed houses, hundreds of yards apart. Villagers, who denied any links to the Taliban or al-Qaeda militants, had buried at least 15 people, including women and children, and were digging for more bodies in the rubble. There were no security forces in the area.
US Pakistani officials told NBC news that US predator drones fired as many as 10 missiles.
Doctors said that at least 17 people died in the attack before dawn on Friday—the second deadly strike in a week near the Afghan border.
Three houses, hundreds of yards apart, were destroyed, with wreckage scattered in craters some 10 feet deep. Five women were weeping nearby, cursing the attackers. Dozens of others gathered to express condolences.
"My entire family was killed, and I don't know whom should I blame for it," said Sami Ullah, a 17-year old student, as he shifted debris from his ruined home with a hoe. "I only seek justice from God."
He said 24 of his family members were killed—among them his parents, four brothers, three sisters-in-law, three sisters and five nephews. He said his father, Bakht Pur, had been a labourer.
Digging through the cement rubble of his home, Shah Zaman, who lost two sons and a daughter, recounted hearing planes at about 2:40 a.m.
"I ran out and saw planes were dropping bombs," said Zaman, 40. "I saw my home being hit."
"I don't know who carried out this attack and why. We were needlessly attacked. We are law-abiding people. I think we were targeted wrongly," he said.
In Kabul, US military spokesman Lt. Mike Cody said he had no reports on Friday's attack.
The attack was the latest in a series of strikes on the Pakistan side of the border with Afghanistan, unexplained by authorities but widely suspected to have targeted terror suspects or Islamic militants. Militant groups like al-Qaeda and the Taliban are believed to be active in the border area, but Bajur itself is rarely troubled by violence.