Airstrike kills 3 militants in Pakistan

A suspected U.S. missile strike early this morning killed at least three suspected associates of a warlord who is fighting Western troops in Afghanistan, intelligence officials said. Powerful militant leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur struck a truce with the Pakistani military and agreed to stay on the sidelines last year as it waged an offensive in the South Waziristan tribal area against the Pakistani Taliban, a group dedicated to attacking the Pakistani state, among other targets.
<p>Bahadur has focused instead on battling U.S. and NATO troops across the border in Afghanistan Two Pakistan intelligence officials said that two missiles targeted a home in the North Waziristan tribal area where Guls associates were believed to be staying. They said three men were believed to be wounded.
<p>The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. A steady series of suspected U.S. missile attacks have happened in North Waziristan, a lawless region home to al-Qaida leaders plotting attacks in the West, insurgents battling foreign troops in Afghanistan and extremists behind bombings in Pakistan.