US missiles hit Taliban hideout in Pakistan

U.S. missiles pounded a Pakistani Taliban commander's hideout in the lawless tribal area of South Waziristan on Friday while U.S. Marines pushed deeper into Taliban strongholds.

The United States has adopted a new strategy to defeat Islamist extremists, putting Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda and sending an extra 21,200 U.S. troops to neighboring Afghanistan to battle the Taliban.

Pakistan

"Three missiles hit the hideout of Taliban commander Noor Wali. Casualties are feared, but details are not immediately available," one official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Wali is a close ally of Pakistani Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud, who has a five-million-dollar price on his head.

Wali's compound was hit in the village of Kokat Khel in South Waziristan, which lies on the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistani troops have been pressing a two-month battle to dislodge Taliban insurgents from northwest districts and the military has said it will open a second front in the tribal regions to track down Mehsud.

"It was a U.S. drone attack. We have checked -- no Pakistani aircraft was involved in this incident," a Pakistani military official said.

"There were missile strikes in two places. The targets were militant hideouts. We are upchecking casualties," another Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

It was a U.S. drone attack. We have checked -- no Pakistani aircraft was involved in this incident

Pakistani military official

The United States military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region.

Washington has branded Pakistan's rugged northwest tribal belt as the most dangerous place in the world for Americans, saying Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels are plotting attacks on Western targets from militant hideouts there.

Pakistan publicly opposes U.S. strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, at least 44 such strikes have killed more than 440 people.

Friday's attack came 10 days after drone aircraft hit Taliban positions as hundreds gathered for a funeral in Mehsud's South Waziristan stronghold.

Security officials and Taliban militants wildly differed on casualties from that attack in a remote, mountainous area. Pakistan's army said between 20 and 30 people were reported killed but others said up to 65 people died.

Afghanistan

Meanwhile, U.S. Marines pushed deeper into Taliban strongholds Friday after suffering the first fatality of their massive offensive against Afghanistan's hardline Islamist militia.

Ferried in by relays of helicopters Thursday, Marines were on the ground in southern Helmand province's districts of Garmsir and Nawa, and also helped Afghan forces take Khanishin, towards the border with Pakistan, officers said.

"Today Marines are continuing to move towards those objectives that are still out there and they are going to work to stabilize security in these areas," spokesman First Lieutenant Kurt Stahl said Friday.

The nearly 4,200 Marines are spearheading U.S. President Barack Obama's aggressive new war plan for Afghanistan's bloody insurgency with an emphasis on protecting the population ahead of presidential elections on August 20.

"When Marines go out into towns, they are always looking for opportunities to talk to village elders and explain why they are here," Stahl said.

"The intention is to understand each other, elders can express their concerns and an open flow of communication is secured."

On Thursday troops quickly overran Khanishin district, where the Taliban had set up a proxy government and justice system, within hours of the launch of the Marines' biggest operation since one in Fallujah in Iraq in November 2004.

When Marines go out into towns, they are always looking for opportunities to talk to village elders and explain why they are here

First Lieutenant Kurt Stahl

First marine death

But they also recorded their first death in an air and land assault that is one of the biggest joint campaigns in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

"One Marine has been killed in action, and several others have been injured or wounded throughout the day," the Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) said.

There was no confirmation of civilian casualties or damage to property, with the military saying it was holding back from using heavy weaponry.

"MEB-Afghanistan forces have not used artillery or other indirect fire weapons, and no bombs have been dropped from aircraft," the statement said.

Troops were operating as far south as Khanishin, it confirmed, with the forces clearing key population centres "to secure the local population from the threat of Taliban and other insurgent intimidation and violence."

One Marine has been killed in action, and several others have been injured or wounded throughout the day

Marine Expeditionary Brigade

Militants attack medical helicopters

A Marine officer said that militants shot and damaged two unarmed but marked medical helicopters sent to evacuate soldiers suffering from the heat while fighting about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Garmsir.

"Two red cross-marked medivac helicopters yesterday afternoon flew from Camp Dwyer to pick up heat victims," Colonel Mike Killion said Friday.

One chopper was hit in the tail and the other was forced into a bad landing and was damaged as it hit an embankment, he said.

"The Taliban know what a red cross means: that the helicopter is unarmed. They don't fire on our attack helicopters as they know the consequences," Killion said.

Two red cross-marked medivac helicopters yesterday afternoon flew from Camp Dwyer to pick up heat victims

Colonel Mike Killion

Missing Soldier

In eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban's hardline Haqqani faction claimed it was holding a U.S. soldier who had been missing since June 30, before the current offensive kicked off.

"We are using all of our available resources to find him and provide for his safe return," U.S. military spokeswoman Captain Elizabeth Mathias told AFP, declining to go into further detail.

The new assault in Helmand is called Khanjar, which means "dagger" in Dari and Pashtu but is translated by the Marines as "Strike of the Sword".

"What makes Operation Khanjar different from those that have occurred before is the massive size of the force introduced, the speed at which it will insert," Marine commander Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said.

The forces pushed south down the Helmand River valley, deep into insurgent-held areas where foreign troops have failed to establish a presence despite ousting the Taliban from power nearly eight years ago.

We are using all of our available resources to find him and provide for his safe return

U.S. military spokeswoman Captain Elizabeth Mathias