Holbrooke refutes Taliban claims on Xe

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The victims of an attack Wednesday near a girls' school in northwestern Pakistan were U.S. soldiers, not foreign security contractors, U.S. officials said.

U.S. military officials confirmed Wednesday that three U.S. service members were killed in an explosion in the Lower Dir District of Pakistan's North-West Frontier province. Two others were wounded and evacuated for treatment.

The Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday took responsibility for the attack, saying the men were working for Xe, known formerly as Blackwater International.

A Taliban spokesman told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper the attacks were an act of revenge for Xe's alleged attacks on Pakistani civilians.

"The Americans killed were members of the Blackwater group," the spokesman said. "We know they are responsible for bomb blasts in Peshawar and other Pakistani cities."

Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, confirmed the deaths were U.S. military personnel, describing the Taliban claims as mere rhetoric.

"They're certain to say that. That's what they do," he said. "They're adept at propaganda and disinformation."

Their deaths are the first known U.S. military fatalities in Pakistan. Three girls and a Pakistani soldier also died in the remote-detonation attack.

The area was the scene of a major military campaign last year against Taliban militants.