The death toll in the northern tribal-dominated Bajur district, close to the Afghan border, is the highest ever for any military operation targeting purported Islamic terrorists in Pakistan.

But local leaders and witnesses said only students, most teenage, and teachers were killed in the pre-dawn missile attack on a religious school -- known as a madrassa -- in Chingai village, near Bajur's main town of Khar.

The raid sparked angry protests in Chingai, Khar and other Bajur towns as local tribesmen and political leaders denounced the pro-U.S. Pakistani military, saying innocent civilians -- not terrorists -- were killed.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 4, 2006
(C) All rights reserved