PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suspected U.S. drone targeted an Islamic seminary early Thursday in Northwest Pakistan, killing six people in an attack likely to inflame tensions over the CIA drone campaign.
According to local officials, three missiles were fired into a madrassa in Kyber Pakhutunkhwa province about 5 a.m. local time, a rare strike outside of Pakistan's tribal areas.
Umar Khan Bangash, a local politician who lives in the area, said the madrassa constructed from mud was destroyed. Four adult students and two teachers were killed, according to a local intelligence official.
The seminary is frequently used by refugees from Afghanistan as well as suspected militants affiliated with the Haqqani network, which has ties to al-Qaida and carries out attacks inside Afghanistan.
Local intelligence officials identified two of the dead as Maulvi Ahmad Jan and Maulvi Hameedullah, who they said were close associates of Sirajuddin Haqqani, a leader of the Haqqani network.
But officials said Haqqani was not in the seminary at the time of the attack. The seminary consists of about 15 rooms, all constructed of mud, but only one room was struck by a missile, officials said.
About 80 students escaped unharmed.
Citing intelligence sources, Reuters reported Haqqani was spotted at the seminary as recently as two days ago.
A local official, who asked not to be identified so he could speak freely about the matter, told the Washington Post he believes "an important figure" had recently been at the location but had left before the attack.
Haqqani is wanted by the U.S. for the a 2008 attack on a Kabul hotel that killed six people, including one American, according to the FBI.
In recent weeks, the Haqqani network has been under increased pressure in Pakistan, where it has long sought refuge and operates training camps.
Under mysterious circumstances, unidentified gunmen shot and killed another senior leader of the group, Nasiruddin Haqqani, Sirajuddin's brother, two weeks ago as he left a market on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Before local police arrived, Nasiruddin Haqqani's body was removed from the scene and later buried by his relatives, Pakistani officials said.
U.S. officials had no immediate comment on Thursday.
But news of the attack is likely to further complicate relations between U.S. and some Pakistani leaders.
Though the U.S. has carried out dozens of drone strikes in tribal areas in Northwest Pakistan, provincial officials said Thursday's attack was the first inside a Pakistani province in more than five years. And it comes at a time of already heightened tension between the U.S. and officials and residents in Kyber Pakhtunkhwa.
After a U.S. drone killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban three weeks ago, political leaders there vowed to halt NATO conveys that travel through the province to and from landlocked Afghanistan.
Imran Khan, leader of the Movement for Justice party that controls the province's coalition government, is holding a well-publicized strategy session with other political leaders in Kyber Pakhtunkhwa to discuss their strategy.
Shireen Mazari, a spokeswoman for Khan's party, said the timing of the latest strike was "a declaration of war against the people of Pakistan."
"The time has come for the Pakistan government to demonstrate through actions that there is zero tolerance for drone attacks," Mazari said.
But the Washington Post reported last month that Pakistan's military and intelligence services have been regularly briefed, and in some cases authorized, U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani soil.
Prime Minister Nawaz Shari has denied knowing of any coordination between the U.S. and Pakistan to carry out drone strikes. Sharif has vowed to end the strikes, and has formally protested to the U.S. ambassador in Islamabad over the issue.
Sharif is unlikely, however, to authorize the suspension of NATO supply routes. Sartaj Aziz, Sharif's foreign policy adviser, told Pakistani lawmakers Wednesday that Sharif intends to honor the existing agreement that permits NATO to use Pakistani roads through at least 2015.
But local officials accused the U.S. of using the drone campaign to attempt to destabilize the country.
In recent days, provincial officials in Kyber Pakhtunkhwa have struggled to contain sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni residents. At least three people have been killed, causing the army to deploy in several cities.
"I don't understand why drone at this time," said Sheraz Paracha, a spokesman for the chief minister of the Kyber Pakhtunkhwa. "This will further incite the people here."
Craig reported from Kabul
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