Iranian envoy is abducted in Pakistan

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan - US drones fired missiles into a Pakistani tribal region today, killing 12 people, including five foreigners, in an area known as a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistani officials said.

The attack targeted a house in a remote village on the border between North and South Waziristan, where Mehsud, an ally of Al Qaeda, has been bottled up by Pakistani forces since early this year, the officials said.

A relative and aides to Mehsud, along with Pakistani government and paramilitary officials, said the attack happened at around 1:45 a.m. local time and at least three missiles were fired.

Frustrated by fighters from Pakistan fueling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and fearful of Al Qaeda regrouping, US forces have intensified missile attacks by pilotless drones since early September.

Pakistan has condemned the violations of its territory and has argued that the attacks fuel anger toward the United States and undermines its own efforts to garner people's support for the campaign against militancy.

The latest attack coincided with a visit to Pakistan by General David McKiernan, the commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

In the chaotic city of Peshawar yesterday, gunmen abducted an Iranian diplomat, Hesmatollah Atharzadeh, who was the commercial counselor at the Iranian consulate, according to The New York Times. His driver was killed.

The kidnapping comes after a series of suicide bombings by Taliban militants in Peshawar in the last few months. The police said they suspected Islamic militants were involved in the killing of a US aid worker, Stephen D. Vance, on Wednesday.

REUTERS