Pakistani airstrike on madrasa kills at least 40

Khar (Pakistan), Oct 30: A dawn attack by Pakistani army helicopters today killed at least 40 suspected militants in a madrasa run by a pro-Taliban commander wanted for harbouring al Qaeda fighters, a senior security official said.

''There were 83 suspected militants in the madrasa. Forty bodies have been recovered. Three wounded have been taken to hospital, and the search is on for the rest,'' the official, in North West Frontier Province's capital of Peshawar, told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

No prominent militant was believed to be in the compound in Chenagai village, 10 km north of Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal region, when it was attacked, according to Major General Shaukat Sultan, Pakistan's military spokesman.

Reuters