Report: Drone strikes could widen

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Some U.S. officials want to extend CIA drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas to Quetta, where Taliban leaders are suspected of hiding, officials said.

The proposal is seen as a way to convince the Pakistani government to go on its own after Taliban leaders, including Mullah Mohammad Omar based in Quetta, the Los Angeles Times reported. Taliban leaders in Quetta are suspected of directing their fighters against the U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Quetta, a city of 850,000, is the capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province and there is concern among other officials in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama about extending the drone strikes in such a large city, the report said. But those who support the proposal say the threat of such strikes is essential for the success of Obama's war strategy, the report said.

"What the Pakistanis have to do is tell the Taliban that there is too much pressure from the U.S.; we can't allow you to have sanctuary inside Pakistan anymore," a senior U.S. official involved in war planning told the newspaper.

Pakistani officials say the fallout from attacking Quetta would be severe.

CIA drone strikes have focused on border trail areas and have been conducted with the consent of the Pakistani government, the report said.

U.S. officials have told Pakistan about the urgency of dismantling the Taliban Quetta Shura because of the July 2011 date set for the start of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the report said.

A senior Pakistani official told the newspaper U.S. claims about Quetta have been exaggerated.

"We keep hearing that there is a shadow government in Quetta, but we have never been given actionable intelligence," he said.