World Oct. 24, 2008 - 03:29AM JST ( 8 )

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan —

U.S. spy drones fired missiles early Thursday into a school set up by a top Taliban commander in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, killing 11 people, security officials said.

The air strike apparently targeting veteran militant Jalaluddin Haqqani, a major target for U.S. forces, was the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani soil that have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington.

It came hours after parliament passed a special resolution calling for an urgent review of Pakistan’s anti-terror policy, including more talks with militants and a vow to defend Pakistan’s territorial sovereignty.

Security officials said the madrassa, or religious school, near Miranshah, the main town in troubled North Waziristan region, was set up by Haqqani during the 1980s “jihad” against Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

It was currently run by one of Haqqani’s own commanders, Mullah Mansoor, and was recently used as a guest house for “international and local students traveling from other areas”.

“At 2:25 a.m., two spy drones fired three missiles at the madrassa of Mullah Mansoor. Eleven people have been killed in the missile strike,” a security official said.

A similar missile strike targeting another house owned by Haqqani on Sept 8 killed 23 people, including members of Haqqani’s extended family, security officials said.

Haqqani was one of the most prominent Afghan commanders who fought the Red Army between 1978 and 1989. He subsequently became close to Mullah Omar, the leader of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Since the fall of the Taliban, Haqqani has become one of the most active Taliban commanders launching attacks on international forces in Afghanistan from safe havens in Pakistan, security officials said.

His son Sirajuddin, also a leading Taliban commander, was an occasional visitor at the madrassa that was hit on Thursday, a senior security official handling tribal unrest said.

The Pakistani army said it was gathering details about an “incident” in North Waziristan. “Details are being gathered about the exact number of casualties,” chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said.

Residents said that all of the victims were local tribesmen, adding that locals had fired at two suspected U.S. drones hovering above.

Missile strikes targeting militants in Pakistan in recent weeks have been blamed on U.S.-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan.

Pakistani lawmakers passed a unanimous resolution during a closed-doors joint session of parliament demanding that the government do more to put an end to U.S. military action on Pakistani soil.

“The nation stands united against any incursions and invasions of the homeland, and calls upon the government to deal with it effectively,” it said.

But it also said that talks with insurgents were vital, adding: “Dialogue must now be the highest priority, as a principal instrument of conflict management and resolution.”

The United States has stepped up attacks on militants in Pakistani tribal areas since a new civilian government came to power in Islamabad in March.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed zero tolerance against violations of his country’s sovereignty amid the strikes, which have stoked anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan.

U.S. and Afghan officials say northwest Pakistan is a safe haven for al-Qaida and Taliban militants who sneaked in from Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Taliban militants Thursday killed eight pro-government tribesmen in an ambush. The victims were returning from a gathering held to discuss ways to combat militants in the Orakzai tribal region, local official Ahmed Khan said.

“Armed Taliban stopped their vehicle, ordered the tribesmen to come out and shot them dead one by one,” Khan said.

Security officials Thursday revised upward the toll from an air strike, a day earlier, at a militant compound in northwestern Bajaur tribal district to 33 rebels killed. Officials said Wednesday 10 insurgents were killed. There was no independent confirmation of the latest claim.

Wire reports