Tribesmen pray next to the bodies of those who were killed during a Pakistan army air strike in Chenagai, 10 km (six miles) north of Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan yesterday. - Reuters

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP):

Pakistani helicopter gunships destroyed a religious school allegedly fronting as an al-Qaida training camp yesterday, killing up to 80 people in the country's deadliest-ever military operation targeting suspected terrorists.

Furious villagers and religious leaders said the pre-dawn missile barrage, however, killed innocent students and teachers, forcing thousands to protest against Pakistan's counter-terror alliance with the United States, chanting "Death to Bush!" and burning American flags.

Islamic leaders and fugitive militants called for massive nationwide protests today to condemn the attack that flattened a school - known as a madrassa - and ripped apart scores of people inside the building, located in remote northwestern Pakistan on the Afghan border.

Amid fears of further unrest, Britain's Prince Charles, who arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a five-day trip, cancelled a planned visit to the northwestern city of Peshawar on advice from Pakistani authorities following yesterday's attack, a British diplomat said.

About 100 supporters of a powerful Islamic group, burned a U.S. flag during a small protest in Peshawar yesterday against the attack.