DAR AL ISLAM - PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN: TERRORIST HIDEOUTS IN PAKISTAN 'MYSTERIOUSLY' EXPLODE

Pakistan: Explosions at terrorist hideout kills over 20

A suspected missile attack on a militant hideout in a remote area of northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border Tuesday killed over 20 insurgents, security officials said.

Several militants were also wounded when three missiles allegedly fired from Afghanistan destroyed a training facility, housed in a big mud-brick seminary, in the border village of Mami Rogha, 40 kilometers west of Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, two intelligence officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment to the media.

Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad claimed, however, that the explosions were caused when bombs the militants were making at an isolated compound exploded accidentally. He said more than 20 were killed.

"According to the information I have received from military sources, the blast happened when these militants were making bombs," he told The Associated Press, without elaborating.

One local intelligence official said between 20 to 25 militants were killed when three missiles hit the hideout.

"We have received reports that the missiles came from Afghanistan," said the official, without offering any evidence to back up his claim.Another Pakistani intelligence official in Islamabad, who also requested anonymity, said the compound lay about three kilometers inside Pakistan and is surrounded by thick forests.

He said nearly three dozen militants were sitting in an open area of a madrassa, or Islamic seminary, when the attack happened, but could not confirm exactly who fired the missiles, although both officials claimed the missiles came from Afghanistan.

The US military in Afghanistan said it had no reports of missiles being fired across the border.

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