A U.S. missile strike that killed a top al-Qaida commander at a house near a Pakistani military base shows how entrenched Islamic militants are in the country's lawless tribal regions, a defense analyst said.
But the successful targeting of Abu Laith al-Libi also suggests that U.S. intelligence in the area is improving, and that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf seems willing to turn a blind eye to such attacks along the Afghan border if they avoid civilian casualties.
Militants unleashed a deadly response Friday, a day after Islamic extremist Web sites reported al-Libi's death.
A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a military checkpoint about three kilometers (two miles) from the missile attack site, killing five soldiers and wounding five others.
Pakistan has yet to confirm al-Libi's death. An American official said a missile from a U.S. Predator drone killed him leader late Monday in a North Waziristan village.
The missile strike leaves an increasingly unpopular Musharraf in an awkward position.
While Pakistan, a key US anti-terror ally, would welcome the killing of the Libyan militant and up to 11 Arab and Central Asian militant suspects, the attack has infringed on its national sovereignty _ and exposed how terror suspects can operate with relative freedom on its soil.
Militants are believed to use the area as a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan.
"It shows the presence of al-Qaida in the tribal regions _ that there are sanctuaries and that local Taliban are giving them help and networking with them," said Talat Masood, a retired general and defense analyst. "It will also reinforce the impression that Pakistan is helpless when it comes to actionable intelligence and when the United States wants to act, it will."
The missile destroyed a house belonging to a local tribal leader known for his links to extremists in a village, just two kilometers (1.3 miles) from a base used by Pakistani security forces.
Pakistani intelligence officials said they found the remains of satellite phones and a computer in the wreckage, suggesting the suspects could communicate outside the remote, rugged region.
By contrast, Pakistani journalist and Taliban expert Rahimullah Yousafzai said security forces were largely confined to their bases and main roads.
The U.S. military identified al-Libi as the likely mastermind of a suicide bombing that hit its main Afghanistan base during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney.
The killing of al-Libi, described by Pakistani intelligence officials as al-Qaida's operational commander in the border region, is a boost for the U.S. in its battle against the terror network after a series of pessimistic assessments of its campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
