US missiles struck a training facility operated by Pakistani Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a militant communication center Friday, killing 17 people and wounding 27 others, intelligence officials said. The two attacks by drone aircraft took place in South Waziristan, where Pakistani troops are gearing up for a military offensive, two officials said. They took place as US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met government officials in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. In one attack, two missiles struck an abandoned seminary in the village of Mantoi that was being used by militants from Mehsud's group for training, the officials said. In the other strike, one missile hit an insurgent communications center in the nearby village of Kokat Khel, they said. However, Maulvi Noor Syed, an aide to Mehsud, told The Associated Press: “We lost only three mujahedeen (holy warriors) in today's American missile attack. These attacks cannot cause any damage to us.” Last week, Mehsud narrowly escaped a strike on a funeral for militants killed in an earlier drone attack. Eighty people died in the strike. The drone attack came as US Marines pushed deeper into Taleban areas in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. On the second day of launching a major anti-Taleban offensive, the Marines met little resistance. One Marine was killed and several others were wounded the day before.
