Pakistan has stopped U.S. forces from using an air base near the Afghan border where unmanned Predator drones were stationed, amid Pakistani concern about civilian casualties and U.S. complaints about the country's links to the militants.
"Yes I can confirm that Shamsi Air Base is no more under the use of Americans and the 150 Americans previously stationed there are now gone," a senior military official told NBC News.
The news came as four missiles fired by two suspected U.S. pilot-less aircraft hit a house in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan on the Afghan border Friday, killing at least 25 people, Pakistani intelligence officials said. They said the house was being used as a militant hideout, but some civilians were among the dead.
The death toll included five children and four women, NBC News reported. The strikes wounded about 10 others.
The U.S. had been using the base, in Baluchistan, to station unmanned Predator drones, used to attack terrorist targets inside Pakistan's tribal areas.
The base, which is also called Bandari, is a small airfield and air station located about 200 miles southwest of Quetta, along the Afghan border.
U.S. military relations with Pakistan have strained following the arrest of a CIA contractor for killing two Pakistanis in Lahore in January. Raymond Davis was released after compensation was paid to the families of the victims, but Pakistan had refused to take a stand on whether Davis had diplomatic immunity from prosecution as the U.S. embassy claimed.
Relations further soured after a March 17 drone attack in North Waziristan killed 50 innocent tribesman.
Mutual relianceWhile officials from both nations have raised the level of rhetoric, they also say they want to keep the partnership intact. Washington needs Pakistani support to be able to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan this summer, while Islamabad relies heavily on U.S. civilian and military aid.
Friday's drone strike happened in Mir Ali, a town about 20 miles east of the region's main town of Miranshah.
An intelligence official in the region, who requested not to be identified, told Reuters that the house was being used as a militant hideout.
"They (the militants) have surrounded the area where the attack happened and are not allowing anybody to go there," he said, adding 25 bodies had been recovered from the rubble and three women were among those killed.
Another official said some foreign militants were among the dead, but that their numbers and nationalities could not confirmed.
The Associated Press reported that some civilians were believed to be among the dead, according to two Pakistani intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Information from that region is difficult to verify independently because access is restricted.
Militant links
The strike came two days after a visit to Islamabad by Admiral Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military official, in which he expressed concern over continuing links between Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the ISI, and militants attacking U.S.-led forces across the border in Afghanistan.
North Waziristan is a known sanctuary for al-Qaida and Taliban militants near the Afghan border.
The United States has been using drone attacks to target al-Qaida-linked militants over the past few years in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, a source of concern for the Pakistan government, which says civilian casualties stoke public anger and bolster support for militancy.
Also Friday, hundreds of militants attacked a checkpoint in a northwest Pakistani district along the border overnight and into the morning hours, killing 14 security troops, officials said — a show of insurgents' continued strength despite army offensives against them.
The fighting in Lower Dir underscored the strength of Islamist militants in the border region, where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have long proliferated. Pakistan's army has staged operations in Lower Dir and the adjacent tribal belt, but it has struggled to keep the peace after initially clearing the insurgents.
Officials from the police, government and intelligence agencies said some fighting was still going on Friday morning. They did not know how many militants died in the clashes in Lower Dir's Khankai area. State-run Pakistan TV said security forces had launched a search operation to track down the lead attackers.
The four officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record. Army officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.