http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/us-says-there-is-evidence-linking-afghan-militants-to-pakistani-government/2011/09/17/gIQADuUeZK_story.html

Suspected US drone crashes in northwest Pakistan, Taliban nab debris, Pakistani officials say

By Associated Press

9/17/2011

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan -- A suspected U.S. drone crashed in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border and Taliban fighters have gotten hold of the precious debris, Pakistani intelligence officials said Sunday.

The unmanned aircraft crashed Saturday night near Jangara village in the South Waziristan tribal area, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The village is located near the border with North Waziristan.

The officials said they learned of the crash by intercepting Taliban radio communications but don't know what caused it. Both North and South Waziristan are home to many Taliban fighters, though it is unclear whether they shot down the aircraft or if it crashed because of technical problems.

Pakistani soldiers clashed with militants near the crash area around the time the drone went down, but it is unclear if the two events were related, said the officials. Three militants were killed and two injured in the clash. Two soldiers were also injured, the officials said.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad did not immediately respond to request for comment on the reported crash. The U.S. normally does not acknowledge the covert CIA-run drone program in Pakistan.

But U.S. officials have said privately that the attacks have killed many high-level militants -- most recently, al-Qaida's second in command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, and its chief of operations in Pakistan, Abu Hafs al-Shahri.

President Barack Obama has dramatically increased the number of drone attacks against militants in Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region since taking office in 2009 -- partly in response to Pakistan's failure to target militants who stage attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials regularly denounce the drone attacks as violations of the country's sovereignty, but the government is widely believed to have supported the strikes in the past and even allowed the aircraft to take off from bases within Pakistan.

That support has come under strain in recent months, especially in the wake of the U.S. commando raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town on May 2. The Pakistanis were outraged that the U.S. didn't tell them about the operation beforehand.

Elsewhere in Pakistan's tribal region, militants attacked a security checkpoint killing a policeman and two members of an anti-Taliban militia, said Farooq Khan, a local government administrator.

The attack took place late Saturday night in the Aka Khel area of the Khyber tribal region, said Khan. The checkpoint is located on a key route that NATO uses to transport supplies to forces in neighboring Afghanistan. Security forces and local tribesmen fought back against the militants, killing 10 of them, said Khan.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But the Pakistani Taliban have staged frequent attacks against security forces and tribesmen who have opposed them.

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Associated Press writer Riaz Khan contributed to this report from Peshawar, Pakistan.