Missiles flattened a suspected militant safe house Sunday in a Pakistan tribal area along the Afghan border, killing some 20 people on the eve of Parliament's takeover by foes of U.S.-backed President Pervez Musharraf.
Anger over such attacks, which are often believed to have the tacit approval of Musharraf's regime, helped carry the president's opponents to victory in parliamentary elections last month.
Many Pakistanis believe the former army general's friendship with the U.S. and his tactics in fighting al-Qaida and Taliban militants have fueled terrorism at home.
But incoming lawmakers are perhaps most incensed with Musharraf's power grab last year, when he fired the country's chief justice, purged the courts and declared emergency rule. They have vowed to restore the judges and to slash Musharraf's sweeping powers to dismiss Parliament and the prime minister.
The new legislature convenes Monday as Pakistan struggles with economic problems, a rising Islamic militancy and a controversial alliance with the U.S. in its war on terror.
Seven missiles fired by an unmanned drone rained down on a sprawling mud brick compound Sunday afternoon about five kilometers (three miles) outside Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, witnesses said. State-run Pakistan Television said about 20 people were killed.
Witnesses, state TV and intelligence officials said the destroyed building belonged to a local militant leader and Taliban sympathizer who goes by the single name Noorullah. It was unclear whether he was among the dead.
Rahim Khan, a local tribesman who went to the site, said the fortress-like compound was known as a hub for visiting foreign militants. Eight of those killed were foreigners, two intelligence officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the nature of their work and did not elaborate.
The Pakistan military said five or six explosions took place and caused casualties, but did not confirm how many. State media did not say where the missiles originated.
Only U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan are known to fly unmanned drones in the region, and they have launched attacks over the Pakistani border before. A U.S. missile strike killed a senior al-Qaida militant in North Waziristan in January.
Maj. Chris Belcher, a U.S. military spokesman, said coalition forces conducted an operation Sunday in Afghanistan's Paktika province, which lies just across the border. He said, however, that he had no information about the Pakistan strike and that he doubted the two incidents were related.
Washington has pressed Pakistan to crack down on Islamic militants who harbor al-Qaida and Taliban fighters along the rugged border. Osama bin Laden is believed to have passed through the area while fleeing U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan, and some believe he may still be hiding there.
"The whole world is passing through a crisis of terrorism and we are in the center of focus," Musharraf told Geo TV in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"We have to fight terrorism," he said. "If we can do this, we will certainly be among the most progressive nations in the world."
Many Pakistanis, however, believe Musharraf's approach to fighting militants has hurt the nation since 2001. His popularity has plummeted amid an ailing economy and rising domestic terrorism.
Police fanned out Sunday across the capital, Islamabad, and foreign embassies scrutinized their security a day after a bomb struck an Italian restaurant popular with foreigners, killing a Turkish aid worker and wounding at least 12 other people.
Saturday's attack was the first in Pakistan's quiet capital in several months, and the first apparently targeting foreigners here in more than a year.
The winning parties in Feb. 18 elections have said that drafting a new counterterrorism strategy is a top priority under a new coalition government.
Followers of two former Pakistani prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, won the most parliamentary seats and were expected to name a candidate for prime minister this week.
Followers of Bhutto, who returned to Pakistan from exile last year and was killed in a suicide and gun attack 70 days later, issued a statement saying they would wear black armbands during Monday's opening session.
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, now jointly led by her widower and 19-year-old son, will hold the largest number of parliamentary seats, followed by Sharif's party.
Meanwhile, those of Musharraf's allies who retained their seats in Parliament named their own candidate Sunday for prime minister: Farooq Sattar, a lawmaker who leads an ethnic party from the south.
The announcement was largely symbolic, since the former ruling bloc does not hold a majority in the legislature.
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Associated Press Writer Zarar Khan contributed to this report from Islamabad and AP Writer Ishtiaq Mehsud contributed from Dera Ismail Khan.
