Pakistani provincial authorities said four or five foreign terrorists were killed in last week's US missile strike that has strained relations with this Muslim nation, a key ally in US President George. W. Bush's war on terror.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, on the eve of a trip Wednesday to Washington, said that despite the importance of ties with the United States, attacks inside Pakistan "cannot be condoned."
 
"Pakistan has committed to fighting terrorism but naturally we cannot accept any action within our country which results in what happened over the weekend," Aziz said, referring to the missile strike Friday in the border village of Damadola. Eighteen local people, including women and children, were also killed.

Pakistani intelligence officials have said the target of the attack was al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri, who was invited to a dinner celebrating an Islamic holiday in the village but sent some aides instead.

US counterterrorism officials, however, haven't ruled out that Osama bin Laden's chief lieutenant was killed in the attack.

In the first official confirmation by Pakistani authorities that militants were killed, the administration of Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal regions bordering Afghanistan said in a statement Tuesday that the four or five bodies of "foreign terrorists," who were among 10 to 12 extremists attending the dinner, were taken away "by their companions." It did not identify the dead militants.
 
The statement, citing the chief official in the Bajur region where the Damadola is located, said its findings were from a report compiled by a "joint investigation team" but gave no specifics on who was included in the team.

There have been conflicting accounts from Pakistani officials and witnesses over who, if anyone, reclaimed bodies from the scene of the missile strike.

Damadola residents claim all the victims were locals and they buried them all. One Pakistani official told The Associated Press on Saturday that bodies had been taken away for DNA tests, although it wasn't clear by whom.

In Washington, a US counterterrorism official said Monday that a compound hit in the attack had been visited in the past by significant terrorist figures and that there were "strong indications that was happening again."

Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, however, would only say Tuesday there was a "possibility" that foreigners were killed in the strike. He told AP the government had "no information" about the presence of al-Zawahri.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan refused to discuss the attack Tuesday, but said the US would continue pursuing al-Qaida leaders.

(Chinadaily.com via agencies January 18, 2006)