Thousands of protesters, called into the streets by clerics, rallied in Damadola and the region's main town, Khar, chanting anti-American slogans.
In Islamabad, the capital, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said that he had no knowledge of a missile strike and that the cause of the compound's destruction was under investigation. The spokesman, Mohammed Sadiq, said that if Pakistan's sovereignty were found to have been violated, the government would protest.
The new government coalition, however, is still struggling to find its footing. Already, it is seriously divided over whether to reinstate judges, including the popular chief justice, who were fired by Musharraf last year. Government ministers affiliated with the junior party in the coalition, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, submitted their resignations in protest after the government missed a self-imposed deadline to pass a resolution reinstating the judges.
The U.S.-backed fight against militants in the tribal areas is an unpopular one with many Pakistanis. Musharraf had sufficient muscle to brush aside protests, but the new government is much more fragile.
The senior partner in the government, the Pakistan People's Party of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is seen as more likely to condone continued U.S. strikes against militants. But the PML-N, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has taken a harder line.
Sharif's party swiftly accused "external forces" of taking advantage of the current rift in the government to carry out an unauthorized attack. It did not specifically name the United States.
If the new government has decided to condone targeted strikes, it would be extremely difficult politically for any Pakistani official to acknowledge that. Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gillani told TV station ARY that if the United States had carried out Wednesday's missile attack, "we condemn it."
Even under Musharraf, however, such strikes were almost never openly acknowledged by U.S. and Pakistani officials. At least four such strikes took place in the months before the new government took office, including one in late January that killed a senior Al Qaeda commander, Abu Laith al Libi.
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laura.king@latimes.com
Special correspondent Ali reported from Peshawar and Times staff writer King from Istanbul, Turkey.
