ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  In an exceptionally heavy barrage by American drones in Pakistan, five Predator aircraft fired 10 missiles at suspected militant compounds along the border with Afghanistan on Thursday. Along with an earlier attack, at least 15 people, including 7 foreigners, were killed, Pakistani security officials said.

The stepped-up drone strikes came as the civilian government felt the repercussions of a Supreme Court decision on Wednesday that declared unconstitutional an amnesty for thousands of politicians accused of corruption.

On Thursday, the National Accountability Bureau, acting with remarkable speed, prohibited 247 people, including some cabinet ministers, from leaving the country, as corruption cases could be revived against them.

They included Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, who was stopped at the Islamabad airport, along with his wife and secretary, from boarding a flight to China, where he was scheduled to make an official visit. He complained publicly that he had not been informed of the ban.