Pakistan strikes alleged al-Qaida center

Sultan denied reports that al-Zawahri was in the area at the time of the attack. “It is all wrong, speculative and we launched this operation on our own to target a training facility,” he said. A Bajur-area intelligence official said word was spreading among residents that al-Zawahri may have been expected at the madrassa, but he said the reports were wrong.

Hussain, the cleric believed to have been a deputy of al-Zawahri, was among those killed, the intelligence official and residents said.

Another al-Zawahri lieutenant, Faqir Mohammed, apparently left the madrassa 30 minutes before the strike, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Hours later, Mohammed addressed 10,000 mourners at a funeral for some of the victims.

“We were peaceful, but the government attacked and killed our innocent people on orders from America,” said Mohammed, who was surrounded by dozens of militants brandishing semiautomatic weapons. “It is an open aggression.”

Three funerals were held one after the other in a field near the madrassa, where the remains of at least 50 people were laid on wooden beds placed side by side in rows and covered with colored blankets.

Villagers walked among the beds and offered prayers. One man strode through the crowd holding aloft — trophy-style — a severed, blackened hand. Militants, their faces covered with brown and red scarves, patrolled the crowd.

On Saturday, Mohammed led a nearby rally of 5,000 pro-Taliban and al-Qaida militants where he denounced the Pakistani and U.S. governments and praised bin Laden.

Will strike fan more unrest?
Fears are high that the attack will fan unrest across Pakistan, which witnessed violent protests this year after European newspapers published cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, as well as the August killing of a ethnic-Baluch tribal chief in another Pakistani military raid.

In Islamabad, Pakistan’s most influential Islamist political leader blamed American forces for the attack, without providing evidence to support his claim, and called for protests Tuesday.

“It was an American plane behind the attack and Pakistan is taking responsibility because they know there would be a civil war if the American responsibility was known,” said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of a six-party religious alliance opposed to Musharraf.

Ahmed claimed that 30 children were among Monday’s dead. But Sultan, the army spokesman, said no children or women were killed and rejected suggestions of U.S. or NATO involvement. Most victims’ bodies were so mangled that positive identification was impossible.

The U.S. military also denied involvement.

“It was completely done by the Pakistani military,” U.S. military spokesman Maj. Matt Hackathorn said in Afghanistan.

The attack took place about two miles from Damadola, where in January a U.S. Predator drone aircraft fired a missile that purportedly targeted — and missed — al-Zawahri, but killed several al-Qaida members and civilians instead.

Thousands of tribespeople traveled from nearby villages to inspect Chingai’s destroyed madrassa, many wailing and others chanting “Long live Islam.” The blast leveled the building, tearing mattresses and scattering Islamic books, including copies of the Quran.

“We heard helicopters flying in and then heard bombs,” said one villager, Haji Youssef. “We were all saddened by what we have seen.”

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