US drone strike kills three in North Waziristan: Officials

The drone targeted a moving vehicle and fired two missiles. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike targeting a vehicle on Saturday killed at least three suspected militants in North Waziristan area near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The strike took place in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, known as a bastion of Taliban and al Qaeda. The drone targeted a moving vehicle and fired two missiles, they said.

“The identity of the militants was immediately unclear but this area is mostly occupied by members of the militant commander Gul Bahadur’s group,” a security official in Peshawar told AFP.

Another official on the ground in Miranshah said that the vehicle had been driving through a village 35 kilometers (around 20 miles) west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan tribal district.

“We have reports that two militants of Gul Bahadur group were also injured in the attack,” he told AFP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The security officials said that the vehicle was engulfed in flames after the attack and militants cordoned off the area, not allowing anybody to go closer, while they removed the bodies.

Earlier on September 1, Six suspected militants were killed in a drone strike targeting their compound and vehicle in Degan area of Datta Khel.

The drone fired four missiles at the militants’ compound and vehicle.