Children die in gunship attack on madrasa, Camilla confident

Guardian

Pakistani forces using helicopter gunships killed around 80 alleged militants today in a pre-dawn attack on a religious school near the Afghan border in a tribal area notorious for its al-Qaida sympathies.

The madrasa in Chenagai village in the Bajaur tribal area was a "terrorist training camp" run by a pro-Taliban cleric who had been warned to close it down, the military spokesman General Shaukat Sultan said.

Between 80 and 100 men aged between 20 and 30 were inside the building when the first rockets struck at 5am (midnight GMT). No women or children were present, he said.

But reporters at the scene said that several children, one as young as seven, were pulled from the rubble. Distraught locals collected the remains of the victims in fertiliser bags, while others took part in angry street protests in nearby villages.

Jamaat Islami, a hardline but influential Islamist party, condemned the attack as "brutal and barbaric" and Siraj Ul Haq, a cabinet minister in the provincial government, announced he would resign in protest.

"This is against Islam and the traditions of the area," he told the Associated Press during the mass burial of 20 people. "This was an unprovoked attack on a madrasa. They were innocent people." Read more

And from Hello C*nts! Magazine:

CAMILLA STARTS PAKISTAN TOUR ON SUPER STYLISH NOTE

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are enjoying their first visit to Pakistan this week after arriving in Islamabad on Sunday night. And a beautifully groomed Duchess of Cornwall showed just how much her confidence and sense of style have grown since she took on the role of royal consort. Read more