48 militants killed in US drone attacks in Pakistan

AT LEAST 48 suspected militants have been killed by missiles launched by US drone aircraft in less than 24 hours across north-west Pakistan, one of the largest death tolls to date in the controversial air bombing campaign.

The strikes, coming shortly after Washington announced it was withholding $800 million (500m) in military assistance amid worsening US-Pakistan ties, could exacerbate tension between the two uneasy allies.

The attacks started on Monday night, when remotely piloted drones fired nine missiles into a militant compound and at a vehicle in North Waziristan, killing 25 suspected insurgents, local intelligence officials said.

Another strike hours later in South Waziristan killed five suspected militants.

Yesterday morning, a drone fired two missiles at another compound in North Waziristan. "The missiles were fired as militants sitting in a vehicle were entering into a house used by them as a hideout," an intelligence official said, adding that 15 militants had been killed in the strike. Three militants were reported to have been killed in another strike in the same region.

"Of course the number of casualties is very high, and it will add to the already strained relationship," a senior Pakistani security official said.

There was no independent confirmation of the death tolls, and militants often dispute official death figures.

It was the second largest death toll within a day in the US drone campaign against militants in Pakistan's north-west. In June 2009, about 70 suspects were killed in a drone attack in South Waziristan.

Most of the strikes have been in South and North Waziristan, mountainous tribal regions on the Afghan border that shelter militant groups friendly with Pakistan but who are attacking Nato forces in Afghanistan.

Washington has been pushing Pakistan to mount an offensive against these militant sanctuaries for years, but Pakistan has resisted, saying it must consolidate its gains against Taleban militants elsewhere first. The US has stepped up drone attacks in response to Pakistan's perceived recalcitrance.

Drone strikes have become one of the most contentious issues in the US-Pakistan relationship. While Pakistan has always publicly opposed the strikes, privately it allowed them and co-operated with the US in determining targets.But since the 2 May commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden, which Pakistan considers a grievous breach of sovereignty, the head of the army, General Ashfaq Kayani, has called for a halt.

The army said it would "fight the menace of terrorism in our own national interest using our own resources."

Such comments in the past have been seen as a signal that Pakistan would not bow to US pressure on military offensives, but the statement did not mention the drone attacks.

Joint intelligence operations between Pakistan and the US were suspended in late January, after a CIA contractor killed two Pakistanis in Lahore.

Pakistan's Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, the country's powerful spy agency, has said Washington has its own targeting information and no longer relies on Pakistani intelligence.