Suspected US drone hits alleged Taliban training centre in Pakistan, 12 dead

The strike was the first drone attack in the Orakzai ethnic Pashtun tribal region, which is near the Afghan border, southwest of the city of Peshawar.
The raid came a day after the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, said his group had carried out an assault on a police training centre in the eastern city of Lahore in retaliation for US drone attacks.Mehsud also gave warning that his men would attack the White House in retaliation for the "drone attacks".
Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5 million bounty on his head from the United States, vowed to "amaze everyone in the world" with an attack on Washington.
Residents of Khadizai village said a missile hit a Taliban headquarters and 12 suspected militants were killed.
A Pakistani Taliban official said the missile had hit a "camp for guests".
"Some foreigners are believed to be among those killed," the official added.
Pakistani officials use the word "foreigner" in reference to suspected al-Qaeda fighters, but the precise identities of the dead was not confirmed.
The United States, frustrated by an intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan getting support from the Pakistani side of the border, has recently increased the frequency of drone attacks.
Since last year, more than 30 US strikes have killed about 300 people, including mid-level al-Qaeda members, according to reports from Pakistani officials, residents and militants. Wednesday's strike was the first reported attack from a pilotless US aircraft since President Barack Obama last week unveiled a sweeping new strategy designed to defeat Islamist militants holed up in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.
"Some foreigners are believed to be among those killed," the official added.
Pakistani officials use the word "foreigner" in reference to suspected al-Qaeda fighters, but the precise identities of the dead was not confirmed.
More than 35 such strikes have killed over 340 people since August 2008, shortly before President Asif Ali Zardari, a key Washington ally, was elected, fanning hostility against the weak Pakistani government and the United States.