Rule of Thumb

If it's "good news" in the war on terror, if yet another al queda "number two"—or in this case "number three" (maybe 'cos there are already several dozen dead number twos) has been eliminated, you'd better make a point of checking the follow-up stories in a couple days.

Ooops.

HAISORI, Pakistan, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Pakistani tribesmen on Sunday displayed parts of a U.S.-marked missile they said hit a house and killed two boys, evidence at odds with the government which says an explosion there killed a top al Qaeda commander....

Haji Mohammad Siddiq told Reuters his 17-year old son and an eight-year-old nephew were killed in a missile attack, but denied there were any militants present. "I don't know anything about them -- there were no foreigners in my house," Siddiq said.

"I have nothing to do with foreigners or al Qaeda. "We were sleeping when I heard two explosions in my guest room. When I went there I saw my son, Abdul Wasit, and my eight-year-old nephew, Noor Aziz, were dead," said the tall, moustachioed tribesman as he received condolences from a stream of relatives and neighbours.

Pakistan, sensitive to domestic public opinion, has denied U.S. drone aircraft have carried out missile strikes on its soil in the past and Washington has declined to comment....

President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday he was "200 percent" sure Rabia was dead. But confirmation of Rabia's death is based on intelligence reports and message intercepts, intelligence sources said, and Pakistani security forces have still to find a body....

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