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Source: Egyptians killed in strikeClerics 'had invited 10 to 12 foreign militants to dinner'
RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- Some of the foreigners killed in last Friday's U.S. airstrike in the remote Pakistani village of Damadola were of Egyptian origin, according to a knowledgeable source. U.S. officials have said "very solid" intelligence indicated that senior al Qaeda members were expected to attend a dinner celebrating the end of the Muslim holiday of Eid and that Osama Bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, could very well be among them. Although these officials believe a number of "significant" al Qaeda figures were killed in the attack, there is no evidence so far that al-Zawahiri was among them. Pakistani officials have said he apparently was not there. The knowledgeable source -- who declined to be identified more specifically -- on Tuesday was not clear how many foreigners were killed by the airstrike, but said, "certainly some of them were of Egyptian origin," and had direct ties with al-Zawahiri. A Pakistani provincial official said Tuesday that "four or five" foreign fighters were killed in the strike. Fahim Wazir, political agent for the semi-autonomous Bajour tribal agency, said that determination was based on information gathered by investigators, but he would not elaborate. In addition to the militants, 18 local residents also were killed, setting off anti-American protests across Pakistan. Wazir said two Muslim clerics had invited 10 to 12 foreign militants to the dinner. U.S. sources have told CNN that the remains of about 12 bodies, including as many as eight foreigners, were quickly retrieved by a group of men after the airstrike, and taken elsewhere for burial. Pakistani officials said among the 18 civilians killed in the attack were five children, five women and eight men. But there have been conflicting accounts from Pakistani officials and witnesses over who, if anyone, reclaimed bodies from the scene of the missile strike. Damadola residents claim all the victims were locals and they buried them all. One Pakistani official told The Associated Press on Saturday that the bodies had been taken away for DNA tests, although it was not clear by whom. The Bush administration, meanwhile, called Pakistan a valued ally in the war on terror Tuesday and pledged to continue pursuing al Qaeda leaders amid concerns the airstrike has strained ties between the two countries and could provoke more anti-American sentiment, The Associated Press reports. White House press secretary Scott McClellan refused to discuss the attack on Tuesday but said "al Qaeda continues to seek to do harm to the American people." "There are leaders that we continue to pursue and we will bring them to justice. The American people expect us to do so and that's what this president is committed to doing," he told reporters in Washington. The attack has become an embarrassment for Islamabad, a staunch U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. Many in this nation of 150 million people oppose the government's backing of the United States in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Frustration has been growing over a recent series of suspected U.S. attacks along the porous and ill-defined frontier aimed at militants. Washington has 20,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, but Pakistan says it does not allow them to hunt down or attack militants across the border. Thousands of Pakistanis took to the streets over the weekend, chanting "Death to America" and calling for the resignation of military leader President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The attack also has undermined the fragile goodwill cultivated in Pakistan by generous U.S. relief in the wake of October's earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people. CNN's National Security Producer Pam Benson contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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