WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The CIA may have used agents in the Pakistani military in its strike against al-Qaida leaders in the country.
More than a week after the U.S. bombing of a Pakistani village killed 13 people, including possibly four al-Qaida terrorists, it appears that the CIA undertook the mission with help from American loyalists and retainers within the Pakistani intelligence establishment, the Times of India reported Wednesday.
The newspaper cited what it called "the intelligence grapevine in Washington," to report that the CIA had its own assets in Pakistani intelligence comprising mostly former Inter-Service Intelligence agency operatives who reported directly to their American bosses and who did not necessarily trust their own government in Islamabad.
In the case of the bombing of Damodala village, it was one such U.S.-sponsored intelligence group that tipped off the CIA about the presence of terrorists, including possibly Ayman al-Zawahiri, causing Washington to rain Hellfire missiles from Predator drones on the suspect compound, The Times of India said.
However, more than 10 days after the incident, there are still no bodies to account for the terrorists named as killed. Whether they were taken away by al-Qaida, by U.S.-sponsored ISI elements or the original ISI is still unclear, the newspaper said.
