ISI linked to terrorists, officials say

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Leading officers in the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence agency are linked to terrorist activity related to the Pakistani Taliban, officials say.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said authorities had arrested several members of the ISI for ties or sympathies to terrorist groups operating in the volatile tribal regions, The Times of India reports.

He referred to regions in South Waziristan, located in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, as a "hub of anti-state activities."

Malik went on to accuse several officials in the ISI of having direct links to Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, adding the Taliban was working in coordination with Lashkar-e-Toiba and its affiliate Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Both groups launched a joint attack on the Indian Parliament on Dec. 13, 2001, killing dozens in the raid. Rebels believed to be with the Pakistani-based LeT seized several high-profile buildings in Mumbai in November 2008, killing at least 188 people.

Meanwhile, military airstrikes believed to be from U.S. aerial drones struck a village in South Waziristan on Wednesday, killing a wife of the Taliban leader Mehsud along with several others.

U.S. intelligence officials claimed they "almost" took out Mehsud in a June attack in South Waziristan.