A major Arab Al-Qaeda operative was among six militants killed overnight in a suspected US missile strike in northwest Pakistan, a senior security official told AFP Wednesday.

Security sources identified the militant as Abdullah Azam al-Saudi, a senior member of Osama bin Laden`s terror network.

A major Arab Al-Qaeda operative was among six militants killed overnight in a suspected US missile strike in northwest Pakistan, a senior security official told AFP Wednesday.

A major Arab Al-Qaeda operative was among six militants killed overnight in a suspected US missile strike in northwest Pakistan, a senior security official told AFP Wednesday.

A missile strike by a suspected US drone killed at least five people including foreigners in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, security officials said Wednesday.

The attack marked the first US missile strike outside of the rugged tribal regions which have become safe havens for militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda, one Pakistani security official said.

A missile strike by a suspected US drone killed at least five people including foreigners in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, security officials said Wednesday.

The attack marked the first US missile strike outside of the rugged tribal regions which have become safe havens for militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda, one Pakistani security official said.

PRAGUE, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Protesters against Washington's plans to site its anti-missile shield in the Czech Republic called for a boycott of US goods and firms at a rally Saturday for a referendum on the matter.

'Our politicians do not listen to us, they do not respect the opinions of the majority in the country...The only word that they understand is the word money,' said Jan Tamas, a spokesman for the main anti-shield 'No Bases' movement, as he demanded 'economic pressure' against the United States.

KIEV, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates held talks here Sunday with his Turkish counterpart as tension mounted between the two nations over Ankara's plans for possible attacks on Kurdish rebels in Iraq.

Gates urged Turkey to obtain precise information on the location of the separatist rebels before launching any military incursion into northern Iraq.

'The key is to develop intelligence to enable us to find these people... that has to precede any action by anybody,' he told reporters after meeting here with Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul.

KIEV, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates arrived in Ukraine Sunday on the first stop of a European tour that will see him discuss Turkey's threat to attack Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq and US plans for an anti-missile shield.

Gates arrived at 1:30 pm (1030 GMT) and was due to meet Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul later Sunday before holding talks with the defence ministers of Ukraine, Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.

WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates left for Europe late Saturday for a series of high-stakes meetings on sensitive issues such as Washington's planned anti-missile installations and US ties to Turkey.

Gates is due to spend Sunday and Monday in Ukraine, where he will meet Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko as well as Turkey's Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, a senior Pentagon official said.

BREZNICE, Czech Republic, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Some 80 Czech mayors Saturday joined peace activists from 16 countries for a conference against US plans to set up a missile shield in Eastern Europe.

'It's important for people who are against this here to know they aren't alone, that it is a question that concerns all of Europe,' said French delegate, Alain Ducq, one of 100 foreign activists attending the conference in Breznice, some 70 kilometres (44 miles) southwest of Prague.

The United States plans to instal a radar near Prague and a launching silo in Poland.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - The United States said Thursday it would not review plans for a missile defense system in Europe if Iran gave up its sensitive uranium enrichment program.

Any review of the controversial plan would occur only if there was a change in the overall threat posed by Iran, including from its missiles, the State Department said.

MOSCOW, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - The United States is beginning to take into account Russian concerns over the deployment of a US missile defence system in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

'Our latest contacts with our American colleagues show that... they are looking for solutions to the problem to remove our concerns,' Putin said during a televised question-and-answer session in the Kremlin.

MOSCOW, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Russia announced the successful test firing of an inter-continental ballistic missile from the northwestern Arkhangelsk region to a target on the other side of the country Thursday, news agencies reported.

The RS-12M Topol missile, which has the NATO codename SS-25 Sickle, was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome and hit its test target in the far eastern region of Kamchatka on Russia's Pacific coast, the Interfax and ITAR-TASS news agencies reported.

MOSCOW, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Russia announced the successful test firing on Thursday of an inter-continental missile, news agencies reported.

The inter-continental RS-12M Topol missile was launched from a base in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region and hit its test target in the far eastern region of Kamchatka on Russia's Pacific coast, Interfax and ITAR-TASS news agencies reported.

BRUSSELS, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - The United States could change its approach to developing a missile shield if Iran were to suspend uranium enrichment in its nuclear programme, a senior US State Department official said Wednesday.

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said US officials had explained Washington's stance to Russia in talks at NATO headquarters to help allay any fears that the missile shield would be a threat to Russia.

'Our real concern is not Russia,' Fried told reporters in Brussels.

BRUSSELS, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - The United States could change its approach to developing its missile shield if Iran were to suspend uranium enrichment, a senior US state department official said Wednesday.

'This is a threat-based system, and we would be affected if Iran gave up its enrichment and worked with the international community, and had a different approach to things,' Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried told reporters here.

MOSCOW, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Russia should not rush to abandon the Cold War-era INF treaty scrapping medium- and shorter-range missiles in Europe, as threatened by President Vladimir Putin, the Russian military chief of staff said Wednesday.

'Today there is not that kind of urgent need for quickly pulling Russia out of this treaty,' General Yury Baluyevsky was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

MOSCOW, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - A Russian radar near Iran could be used in a US missile defense system but would not be a substitute for sites planned in NATO members Poland and the Czech republic, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said here Friday.

'The radar is of primary use as an early warning radar and would not be useful in terms of terminal guidance' of interceptor missiles, Gates said at a news conference after talks with top Russian officials.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Kuwait is to buy an unspecified number of Patriot missiles from the United States, Defence Minister Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah told the state news agency KUNA on Friday.

Sheikh Jaber, responding to questions about Washington's sale of arms to Gulf allies, said 'Kuwait has signed deals, not for airplanes, but for materiel such as ships and Patriot missiles.'

He did not give any further details.

MOSCOW, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - The United States on Friday rejected a Russian call to freeze a planned anti-missile defence system in central Europe, despite a warning from Moscow that it would move to 'neutralise' the threat from such a system.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after talks in Moscow that 'negotiations with our allies... will continue' on deployment of the tracking radar and missile interceptors in the Czech Republic and Poland.

MOSCOW, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday after talks here with his US counterpart that they had failed to reach agreement on US plans for a missile shield in central Europe and that Moscow wants the project 'frozen.'

'There is no agreement on this,' Lavrov told journalists after talks with Rice and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in Moscow. He said that for negotiations to work the US project for an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic 'should be frozen.'

NOVO OGARYEVO, Russia, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Friday that the United States should not 'force' its plans to deploy new missile defences in eastern Europe while it is still discussing the issue with Moscow.

'We are counting on you not to force your previous agreements with eastern European countries during our complex negotiations' on the topic, Putin told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

NOVO OGARYEVO, Russia, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin warned a US delegation Friday that Russia could withdraw from the Cold War-era INF treaty limiting medium and shorter-range missiles in Europe.

Putin said 'it will be difficult for us to remain within the framework of the treaty', which requires destruction of Russian and US intermediate range missiles, unless it is expanded to include other countries.

SHANNON, Ireland, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew to Moscow on Thursday determined to defend US plans to extend an anti-missile rocket system into Poland and the Czech Republic against stiff Russian opposition.

'We have been very clear that we need the Czech and Polish sites,' Rice told reporters on her plane prior to a stopover in Shannon, Ireland, en route to Moscow.

SEOUL, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - North Korea has successfully tested a highly mobile short-range missile which could hit targets inside South Korea with chemical or explosive warheads, a lawmaker said Thursday.

The communist state successfully launched the KN-02 missile in June, said Kim Hak-Song of the opposition Grand National Party, who is a member of parliament's defence committee.

Quoting a recent report to parliament by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kim said the missile has a range of 120 kilometres (75 miles).

WASHINGTON, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - The United States on Friday proposed a common network of missile defense systems with Russia and NATO to allay Moscow's concerns over a planned US missile defence system in central Europe.

'The answer is we and the Russians and NATO or the NATO-Russia Council work together to produce a common system or common network of systems which would benefit everyone's security and also address Russian security concerns,' Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said.

BHUBANESWAR, India, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - India successfully test-fired on Friday the nuclear-capable Agni-1 ballistic missile which can strike most targets in rival Pakistan, a defence official said.

The Agni-1, which has a range of 700 kilometres (420 miles), was launched from Wheeler Island at mid-morning off the eastern state of Orissa, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

'It was a successful test,' said the official, who asked to remain unnamed.

Wheeler Island lies 180 kilometres northeast of Orissa state capital Bhubaneswar.

WASHINGTON, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - A US missile intercepted a mock warhead launched into space over the Pacific Friday in a successful test of the US missile defense system, a defense spokesman said.

'It was a direct hit,' said Chris Taylor, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

The interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California 17 minutes after the target missile was launched from Kodiak Island in Alaska, he said.

MOSCOW, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates will hold face to face talks with their opposite numbers in Moscow on October 12 on America's planned missile defence system, officials here said Wednesday.

Rice and Gates will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Secretary Anatoly Serdyukov in the wake of stalled negotiations earlier this month between the two sides in Paris, Russia's foreign affairs ministry said.

TEHRAN, Sept 22, 2007 (AFP) - Iran on Saturday showed off a new longer-range missile named the 'Ghadr,' saying it had a range of 1,800 kilometres (1,100 miles), in an annual military parade to mark an eight-year war with Iraq.

The 'Ghadr' -- meaning 'power' -- appears to be an upgrade of Iran's existing longer-range missile the Shahab-3, which according to Iranian officials has a range of 1,300 kilometres (805 miles).

Iran faces growing international pressure over its controversial nuclear programme, which the West fears is a covert weapons drive.

SEOUL, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - North Korea has trained Syrian missile engineers and the Arab nation has bartered farm products and computers for missiles from the Stalinist state, a report said Friday.

The two countries have recently strengthened missile cooperation, with Syrian engineers staying in Pyongyang to acquire technology, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.

The barter system began in 1995 due to Syria's worsening financial woes, Yonhap said, quoting unidentified North Korea watchers.

GABALA, Azerbaijan, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - A team of US military experts on Tuesday inspected a mammoth Soviet-era radar station in Azerbaijan that Russia is pushing as an alternative to contentious anti-missile defence sites in central Europe.

The Pentagon delegation said it had gathered data to determine how to respond to Moscow's offer to share the Gabala station, which it leases from ex-Soviet Azerbaijan, in exchange for the US dropping plans to deploy a radar station in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland.

BAKU, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - A team of US military experts was in Azerbaijan Tuesday to inspect a mammoth Soviet-era radar station that Russia is pushing as an alternative to contentious anti-missile defence sites in central Europe.

Moscow has offered to share the Gabala station, which it leases from ex-Soviet Azerbaijan, in exchange for the US dropping plans to deploy elements of a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

BAKU, Sept 16, 2007 (AFP) - A US military team will visit ex-Soviet Azerbaijan on Tuesday to inspect Russia's Gabala radar station, touted by Moscow as a potential alternative to controversial missile defence sites in central Europe.

The Pentagon delegation will visit the station, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the Azerbaijani capital Baku, in the company of Azerbaijani and Russian military experts.

PRAGUE, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - Leftwing leaders from six central European countries condemned US moves to site a missile defence system in the Czech Republic and Poland in a joint declaration adopted on Friday.

'We are concerned about the decision to deploy the system and are at one with the large majority of our populations in rejecting it,' said the statement, signed by Social Democratic party leaders from the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

PRAGUE, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - Leftwing leaders from six Central European countries condemned US moves to site a missile defence system in the Czech Republic and Poland in a joint declaration adopted on Friday.

'We are concerned about the decision to deploy the system and are at one with the large majority of our populations in rejecting it,' the declaration, signed by Social Democratic party leaders from the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia, said.