15 killed as US missiles strike training facility and hide-out

US MISSILES struck a training facility allegedly operated by Pakistani Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a militant hide-out today, killing 15 people and wounding 27 others.

The two attacks took place in South Waziristan, a Mehsud stronghold close to the Afghan border, two officials said.

They were the latest in more than 40 such strikes by the United States against militant targets in the border area since last August. Washington does not directly acknowledge being responsible for the attacks, which kill civilians as well as militants.

The strikes came as the Pakistani military prepares for its own offensive in South Waziristan to eliminate Mehsud, who has been blamed for a string of deadly suicide attacks across the country. One attack targeted an abandoned seminary in the village of Mantoi that was allegedly being used by militants from Mehsud's group for training, said the officials. The other struck a hide-out in the nearby village of Kokat Khel.

Pakistani warplanes also bombed suspected militant hide-outs in neighbouring North Waziristan today, killing at least four insurgents and wounding seven others, intelligence officials said.