Intelligence officials say suspected US drone missile strike kills 3 in NW Pakistan

Officials: Suspected US strike kills 3 in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD — Intelligence officials say a suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles at a house in Pakistan’s volatile northwest near the Afghan border. At least three people died.

The officials say Wednesday’s attack occurred in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan, an area of Pakistan’s semiautonomous tribal region that is dominated by militant groups launching attacks against coalition troops in Afghanistan.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

U.S. officials rarely discuss the missile strikes. Although Pakistan’s government publicly condemns them as violations of its sovereignty, many analysts believe the two countries have a secret deal allowing them.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck an army facility in the Pakistan-controlled portion of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing four soldiers and wounding 11 others in the latest violence to strike the country.

The prime minister of the region, Raja Farooq Haider, said the attacker targeted an army barracks near the town of Rawalakot. He condemned the attack and vowed to defeat terrorism.

“We will never tolerate any attack on the Pakistan army,” he said in televised remarks.

Police official Zubair Ahmed said the attacker detonated his explosives after guards stopped him at the barracks gate. He said the dead and wounded had been transported to a military hospital.

More than 600 people have been killed in Pakistan in attacks by militants, many of them targeting the government, since mid-October, when the army launched a major offensive against the Pakistani Taliban’s stronghold of South Waziristan in the northwest.

But attacks are rare in Kashmir, which is divided between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Most of the militants operating in the Himalayan region attack Indian targets because they seek to end New Delhi’s rule. They use the Pakistani side to plot attacks, but rarely strike there.

However, on Dec. 28, a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite procession in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing eight people and wounding another 80.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday’s attack in Kashmir.