MIRAMSHAH:
A US drone attack killed at least four militants in the North Waziristan tribal agency on Saturday, security officials said.
The attack took place at a house near Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan where US believes Taliban and al Qaeda linked militants are headquartered, the officials said.
It was the fifth US drone strike reported in the tribal regions since parliament in March demanded an end to such attacks.
“A US drone fired two missiles at a house and at least four militants were killed,” a senior security official told AFP. “The identities of the militants killed in the drone strike were not immediately known,” he said. Two other officials confirmed the attack.
Residents said they were woken up by the sound of a low flying aircraft and the noise of the missile strike.
“The house caught fire after missiles struck and the militants immediately cordoned off the area and began searching the rubble,” a local tribesman told AFP. Washington considers the tribal belt the main hub of the Taliban and al Qaeda from where militants plot attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.
North Waziristan is a stronghold of the Haqqani network – a group of Afghan insurgents blamed for a series of spectacular attacks on Western targets in Kabul – and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud.
Islamabad has been resisting US pressure to launch a sweeping offensive against militants in the area.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2012.
COMMENTS (3)
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@Imran
The reality is that the militants control these areas and if there are govt/military officials they keep a low profile. I might add that these days when many have cell phones and internet access you never see pictures of the innocent casualties. The militants know full well the value of exploiting pictures of innocent casualties -- the fact that there are none may indicate their absence.
After each drone strike we hear " the militants cordoned off the area". Does it mean the drones r very accurate and only real militants r being targeted ?
Surely, years of drone strikes have made the US the victor. Maybe 10 more years of drone strikes and even more victories for Americans and their local supporters.