U.S., Pakistan drawing up new drone targets: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials are drawing up a new list of targets for unmanned drone strikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Quoting officials involved in the consultations, the newspaper said Pakistani officials wanted to broaden strikes to include extremists who have carried out attacks against Pakistanis.

Until now, the attacks have hit suspected al Qaeda and Taliban targets. The attacks are deeply unpopular in Pakistan and Afghanistan due to allegations that they frequently also kill innocent civilians.

The Journal said the United States believed Pakistan's top intelligence agency is directly supporting the Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan.

The report followed another in the New York Times on Wednesday that said the Taliban's military campaign in southern Afghanistan was aided partly by support from operatives in Pakistan's military intelligence agency.

U.S. officials told the Times that proof of the ties came from electronic surveillance and trusted informants.

Violence in Afghanistan is at its highest level since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, and the United Nations warned earlier this month it was likely to worsen this year.

President Barack Obama has ordered 17,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan. They will join 38,000 American troops and 30,000 more from NATO allies and other nations. A U.S. official said on Tuesday that Obama was expected on Friday to announce the results of his administration's review of Afghanistan policy.

Pakistani leaders deny any government ties to militant groups and the Times quoted U.S. officials as saying it was unlikely top government officials were coordinating the efforts. The middle-ranking intelligence operatives sometimes cultivate relationships without the approval of senior officials, the paper said.

(Reporting by Alan Elsner; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)