Two air-to-ground missiles ripped through the sky before smashing into the house where a Taliban leader with close links to Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was thought to be hiding.
"There was a glittering flash of light and a prolonged roar," said Hameedullah Khan, one of the first on the scene of Monday's suspected US drone strike in the Pakistani town of Dande Darpa Khel, near the Afghan border.
Two white drones circled the area for hours ahead of the attack that left 21 people dead, including women and children, residents told AFP.
"We recovered 10 bodies. Some were mutilated, some charred. We could not identify if the victims were locals or foreigners. But we could distinguish that children were among the dead," Khan said.
Missile strikes targeting Islamic militants in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas in recent weeks have been blamed on US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan. Pakistan does not have missile-equipped drones.
In the past 12 days, five strikes have been carried out, targeting suspected Taliban or Al-Qaeda bases.
The reputed target of Monday's attack, veteran Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, was not among those killed, and the devastation left on the ground seems only to have strengthened the Taliban's influence on local civilians.
"After about an hour, the Taliban turned up," said Khan, who helped in the rescue work at Dande Darpa Khel.
"They ringed a building and erected a tent (to treat casualties) nearby," the 35-year-old said.
"Then they recovered more bodies and wounded who were sent to hospital."
Washington says Pakistan's mountainous tribal regions have become a safe haven for Islamic fighters waging an insurgency against international troops based across the border.
But the increasingly frequent missile attacks, for which the United States has not claimed responsibility, are straining Pakistan's relationship with its key ally.
Civilian deaths have stirred local anger and embarrassed the Pakistani government, already struggling to tackle the militancy that has seen 1,200 of its own people die in bombings and suicide attacks in the past year alone.
Pakistan's army, itself engaged in fierce clashes against militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the border regions, has also condemned what it sees as unilateral US action that violates the country's sovereignty.
Residents in Dande Darpa Khel say until recently, one drone would comb the region late at night or early in the morning. But now, two or three will fly together, around the clock.
We warned you about Al-Qaeda. We offered to work with you, and yet, corrupt people within your intelligence community have repeated warned Al-Qaeda members to incoming US strikes. You have made your choice, now you get to deal with the consequences of that choice.
You want us to go away? It's real easy and I'll even give you the answer: Give us Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and every other Taliban and Al-Qaeda member you know of. Do that, and we go away. Until then, you can bet your ass we're coming and we're coming in hard.
Travis
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