Taliban helped in Dir attack?

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. military and intelligence officials suspect an attack in Pakistan's North-West Frontier province that killed American troops was an inside job.

U.S. military officials confirmed Wednesday that three U.S. service members were killed in the attack. Two others were wounded and evacuated for treatment.

The Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday took responsibility for the attack in the Lower Dir District of Pakistan's North-West Frontier province, saying it was an act of revenge for contractors working for Xe, known formerly as Blackwater International.

Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, confirmed the deaths were U.S. military personnel but described the Taliban claims as propaganda.

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.

U.S. military and intelligence officials told The Long War Journal, an online forum on regional affairs, that the nature of the attacks suggested the Taliban had help in the plot.

"This attack was too perfect, they laid in wait for the convoy to pass and knew exactly which vehicle to hit," military officials said.

Intelligence officials added Lower Dir was relatively stable, suggesting it was something more than luck that led to the Taliban striking U.S. military targets on their first attempt.