ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 1 (UPI) -- An explosion killed eight people and destroyed a pro-Taliban commander's compound in Pakistan's northwest region, the scene of an anti-insurgency campaign.
The Pakistani military denied any involvement in the Monday blast in the Qambarkhel village in the Khyber Agency. A spokesman for the pro-Taliban group blamed it on a missile strike from U.S. and NATO forces from across the border in Afghanistan, The Washington Post reported.
Area residents were quoted as saying the blast destroyed the compound of Haji Namdar, commander of the pro-Taliban group called the Suppression of Vice and Promotion of Virtue Movement.
The Pakistani military offensive is currently concentrated in the Khyber Agency, a major supply route for U.S. and NATO forces in their campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan, the report said.
The Pakistani campaign began because of insurgent threats to overtake Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North-West Frontier province.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard A. Boucher is to hold discussions about Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts because of rising concerns over the new coalition government's plans to hold peace talks with radical groups in Pakistan's volatile tribal areas, the Post report said.
