MIR ALI, Pakistan — A suspected U.S. missile strike killed at least eight militants Friday in northwestern Pakistan, officials said, the second attack this week in an area believed to hold many insurgents who fled from an army offensive elsewhere in the Afghan border region.Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told visiting CIA director Leon Panetta that any new U.S. strategy for Afghanistan must take into account Pakistan's concerns, especially fears that more troops could push militants across the border into Pakistan, according to a statement by Gilani.
The CIA is believed to be behind the more than 40 missile strikes to have hit suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban targets over the last year close to the border region. American officials do not generally acknowledge the attacks, which are unpopular among many here.
A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a compound being used by suspected Taliban militants in a village near Mir Ali in North Waziristan, according to two intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.
The compound was destroyed and eight bodies were pulled from the rubble, the officials said, adding that two other suspected militants were wounded.
The targeted compound in the village of Shakhwadi was owned by two brothers, and Taliban militants were frequently seen visiting the building, which was cordoned off after the missile strike, the officials said.
Ahmed Nawaz Dawar, a local tribesman, said Taliban militants buried those killed and took the wounded to a hospital.
Another suspected U.S. missile strike killed three militants and wounded four just after midnight Thursday in Shana Khuwara village in North Waziristan, officials said.
Anti-American sentiment is pervasive throughout Pakistan. The Pakistani government publicly condemns the U.S. strikes as violations of its sovereignty, but many analysts believe the two countries have a secret deal allowing them.
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