U.S. drones prowl over Pakistan's South Waziristan

By Hafiz Wazir

WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - U.S. drones prowled the sky over Pakistan's South Waziristan on Wednesday, a day after one of the aircraft attacked a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, killing about 70 militants.

The U.S. attack came as the Pakistani army is preparing an all-out assault on al Qaeda ally Mehsud, who has been accused of orchestrating a campaign of bombings in Pakistan, including the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The push into South Waziristan on the Afghan border looms as the army is finishing off an offensive in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, launched after Taliban gains raised fears for nuclear-armed Pakistan's future.

Pakistan is a vital ally for the United States as it strives to defeat al Qaeda and stabilise Afghanistan, where thousands of extra U.S. soldiers are arriving.

U.S. President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Jim Jones, arrived in Pakistan on a trip that includes stops in Afghanistan and India aimed at following up on the implementation of a new U.S. strategy for the region.

He will meet civilian and military leaders, a spokesman said.

The pilotless U.S. drone strike late on Tuesday, on a funeral for one of six militants killed in a similar strike earlier in the day, suggests closer coordination between the United States and Pakistan.

But Pakistan, which officially objects to such strikes, is unlikely to confirm that in a country where many people are suspicious of the alliance with the United States in its global campaign against militancy.