Pakistan destroys al Qaeda school 

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistani troops backed by helicopters firing missiles destroyed an al Qaeda-linked training facility in a northwestern tribal area near the Afghan border Monday, killing "many" militants, officials said.

The pre-dawn attack targeted a religious school -- known as a madrassa -- holding 70-80 militants in a village near the town of Khar, the main town in the Bajur tribal district, said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.

Sultan said the facility was destroyed but it was not immediately clear how many people had been killed. ...

*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 2006.10.29:22:43

Zawahiri was target of Pakistan madrassa airstrike
Allahpudit

The ostensible target was Faqir Mohammed, an al-Zawahiri deputy who hosted a meeting of Taliban and AQ fighters two days ago in Bajaur. They fired four or five missiles into the building, though, according to the Pakistani military, killing approximately 80 jihadis. Which sounds like an awful lot of firepower to be using for an aide-de-camp.

Indeed, says the Blotter quoting Pakistani officials, they were after the big dog himself.

They don’t think they got him, although another deputy, Maulana Liaquat, is presumed dead. As for Faqir Mohammed, early reports conflict: WaPo says he left half an hour before the attack but Bill Roggio believes he was on the premises at the time. Roggio’s also skeptical that this was carried out by the Pakistanis: ...

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Zawahiri Target In Major Attack On Al Qaeda In Pakistan

ABC’s Blotter

Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.

ABC News has learned the raid was launched after U.S. intelligence received tips and examined Predator reconnaissance indicating that al Qaeda’s No. 2 man may have been staying at the school, which is located in the Bajaur region near the village that is thought to be al Qaeda’s winter headquarters.

Despite earlier reports that the missiles had been launched by Pakistani military helicopters, Pakistani intelligence sources now tell ABC News that the missiles were fired from a U.S. Predator drone plane. ...

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Zawahiri Was Target in U.S. Attack on Religious School in Pakistan

Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.

ABC News has learned the raid was launched after U.S. intelligence received tips and examined Predator reconnaissance indicating that al Qaeda's No. 2 man may have been staying at the school, which is located in the Bajaur region near the village that is thought to be al Qaeda's winter headquarters.

Despite earlier reports that the missiles had been launched by Pakistani military helicopters, Pakistani intelligence sources now tell ABC News that the missiles were fired from a U.S. Predator drone plane.

Between two and five senior al Qaeda militants were killed in the attack, including the mastermind of the airliners plot in the U.K., according to Pakistani intelligence sources.  ...

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Target madrassa fronts for jihad
Michelle Malkin

...

Andy Cochran has more on how the attack explodes the Madrassas-Don't-Train-Terrorists Myth.

Smart GOP candidates will press their opponents: Do you support the effort to root out jihadists from these madrassa terror sanctuaries or not? Will you pander to CAIR mau-mauers when they take the Islamophobia line or not?

Get them on record. It matters.