Five militants killed in fresh US drone strike in North Waziristan
By ANITuesday, April 13, 2010
ISLAMABAD - At least five suspected Taliban militants were killed and two injured in a fresh US drone strike in the restive North Waziristan late Monday night.
According to reports, unmanned Predator aircraft fired two missiles targeting a compound in Boya village, situated 20 kilometres away from Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan.
The compound is said to be owned by a local Taliban commander, Tariq Khan, The News reports.
The missile hit came as Pakistani security forces killed 39 militants in heavy fighting in Orakzai, where an intense military offensive is going on for the past two weeks.
US drone attacks routinely target Taliban and Al Qaeda commanders in Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions along the Afghanistan border.
The frequency of missile hits has increased considerably in North Waziristan following a bomb attack on a CIA camp in Afghanistan in December last year, which killed seven top US intelligence officials.
Although Pakistan publicly opposes the attacks, saying they violate its sovereignty and fuel anti-Americanism among the population, it is believed that it was sharing intelligence with the US about the insurgents and their hide-outs.
More than 830 people have been killed in more than 90 US strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, with a surge in the past year as President Barack Obama has put Pakistan at the heart of his fight against Al-Qaeda. (ANI)
