ISLAMABAD, February 15, SPA -- Dozens of followers of Pakistan's topTaliban commander were in a compound targeted by a U.S. missile strike that killed 27 near the Afghan border,intelligence officials said, while insurgents freed akidnapped Chinese engineer elsewhere in the northwestregion. The missile strike Saturday appeared to be the deadliestyet by the American drone aircraft that prowl the frontier. The release of the Chinese man held by the Taliban sinceAugust was a rare bit of good news in Pakistan followingthe apparent beheading of a kidnapped Polish engineer andthreats to kill an abducted American U.N. official. Theexact terms of his Saturday release were not immediatelyclear, but a Chinese official said he was doing well. In an unrelated interview quoted by Associated Press, President Asif Ali Zardari said the Taliban had expanded their presence to a «hugeamount» of Pakistan. «We're fighting for the survival of Pakistan. We're notfighting for the survival of anybody else,» Zardari said,according to a transcript of his remarks that CBStelevision said it would air Sunday.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/635667