U.S. missile blasts kill 9 in Pakistan militant stronghold

Missiles fired from U.S. drone aircraft hit a seminary and houses associated with a Taliban commander, killing at least nine people, including both militants and civilians, officials and witnesses said.

With violence spiraling in Afghanistan, Washington is becoming more aggressive about insurgent havens abutting the Afghan border, despite the strain it places on relations with Pakistan just as its new president takes office.

Monday’s incident occurred in a village in North Waziristan, a militant stronghold in Pakistan’s tribal belt and a possible hiding place for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri.

-From Associated Press reports