MIRANSHAH: A drone strike in North Waziristan killed 10 suspected militants on Monday evening.
A US drone fired three missiles on a vehicle in the border areas of Gurwakha, in Datta Khel tehsil. Local sources said that five militants had been killed.
A local security official on the condition of anonymity confirmed the casualties and said that the drone had fired three missiles on double-cabin vehicle.
The area in which the vehicle was targeted belongs to the Wazir tribe and is under the control of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who has been blamed for a number of attacks in Afghanistan.
This was the second drone strike in the region in the past 24 hours. A drone strike yesterday in Gurwakha area (part of which extends into Afghanistan) killed six militants after a drone fired missiles on a vehicle near the border on the Afghan side.
AFP adds
Two unmanned aircraft fired four missiles, fired missiles at the compound and a vehicle parked in the Gurwakha area of Datta Khel town, 45 kilometres (28 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district, a senior official based in Peshawar said.
"Two missiles struck the compound and another two hit a vehicle," the official said. "At least 10 militants were killed in this American drone attack."
A second security official based in Miranshah confirmed the death toll.
Both officials said the number of casualties could rise as the area which the drone strike targeted had been completely destroyed.
Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants have carved out strongholds in the northwest where they are said to have plotted attacks on Pakistani, Afghan and Western targets.
A total of 20 US drone strikes have now been reported in Pakistan's tribal belt since US commandos found and killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a unilateral airborne raid on the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad on May 2.
Officials said that all those killed in Monday's strike were local militants.
Washington has called Pakistan's semi-autonomous northwest tribal region the most dangerous place on Earth and the global headquarters of al Qaeda.
Relations between Pakistan and the United States have deteriorated sharply since the killing of bin Laden, and Islamabad has demanded an end to the drone strikes.
COMMENTS (15)
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Samir, your view is correct by Pakistanis prefer to live in denial and view all this as a "reaction".
@Rock. If we start drone attacks and unjust army operation in any area, be it Lahore, Multan or Haiderabad, we will see the same reaction from the victims. When your dears are killed, you burn in the fire of taking revenge. By the way it is yet to be investigated who is actually behind those incidents. Do some investigation before believing anything. You are religion bound to do that if you have faith in Quran.
Thanks to ET which calls them 'suspected' militants', many other national news agencies call them terrorists or militants. We can call them militants or terrorists only when our own institutions declare them so. The news items should read " Ten Pakistanis killed by US in a drone attack".
@Imran: Faulty logic due to faulty view point. They're the people who kill so nobody can acquire those concepts in that part of the world. So, yes, it does count as supporting and preserving the concepts as without any preventative measures and turning a blind eye means they will cease to exist.
Those who condemn the drone attack must support pak army operation. Otherwise who will kill your terrorist? You will be sitting ducks when next suicide bomber strikes. So instead of condemning the drone attacks ask your army to clean up the area after all the area is in pakistan.
@Samir
I wish you were one of the victim of the drone so you can feel the pain.
The Show will go on
@Samir If spraying missiles like this ensures freedom, education, and rights for women, children, and minorities., then may be dozens of them should be sprayed every day but unfortunately that can only work in fantasy land you live in, not the real world.
@Samir: Let us see you thank the Americans if (God forbid) a drone missile lands on your house...
Another slap on the face of Hijra napak forces of Pakistan plus no more aid...where all those JF thunders...rusting in the thar desert i guess..
RIP all the innocent people who lost their lives in this barbaric drone attack
Keep going till you run out of target. The US does not need any support or help, when they can do it all? This is the best thing in Pakistn's favor, to keep the terrorists "terrorized" and on the run. On the run and in hiding for the dear life, these cowards cannot kill more and more Pakistani civilians easily. The mere fact that "somebody" is watching them from up above, can put the fear of God in them.
another one bites the dust. God Bless America.
Thank you for not listening to Imran Khan. The drones continue to save the people of FATA from the tyranny of the terrorists who refuse to believe in freedom, education, and rights for women, children, and minorities.
Business as usual - looks like moving the drone base to Afghanistan was nothing other than a slight inconvenience.