Al-Qaida ally reported killed in Pakistan drone strike

New York Times story appearing in the San Jose Mercury News;
By Pir Zubair Shah June 29

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Eight militants, including an Egyptian allied with al-Qaida, were killed Tuesday in what residents and a Pakistani security official said was a U.S. drone strike in the South Waziristan tribal area near this country's Afghan border.

The United States has intensified its campaign of drone attacks against suspected militants in the border areas of Pakistan, but most have been concentrated in North Waziristan, an area that Western officials consider the most important refuge for militants with al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Tuesday's attack was the second within a few weeks in South Waziristan after a lull that lasted months. Last October, Pakistan invaded part of South Waziristan to drive out militants; many who fled north are now returning south.

The drone was believed to have fired two missiles at a compound in a village near Wana, the regional capital. The Egyptian, Hamza al-Jufi, had lived in Wana for many years, said a fighter in the area who visited the site after the attack and spoke by telephone. Most of the other militants killed in the strike lived nearby, though two came from another province, Punjab, the fighter said.

According to security officials, the militants were working under Jufi, a well-known figure in South Waziristan who was said to have survived a drone attack in 2008.