Drone strike kills 2 in South Waziristan

AFP report claims there were no casualties in the drone attack.

DI KHAN: An unmanned US drone strike killed two militants in the Lawa Kanda area of South Waziristan on Thursday, a security official told The Express Tribune.

The attack took place in the Shin Warsak village of Birmal tehsil located about 20km west of Wana.

The security official said that the drone targeted a vehicle killing one person instantly and wounding another – who later succumbed to his injuries. The vehicle was also completely damaged.

A local resident, who was close to the targeted area, told The Express Tribune that he heard a blast which was followed by dust. He also saw two drones flying over the area at the time of the attack.

An AFP report, however, claims that there were no casualties in the drone attack.

“Two or three militants were walking in a cultivated field. A US drone fired two missiles but no one was hurt,” a security official based in Peshawar told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A second security official in South Waziristan confirmed the drone strike and told AFP that “so far” there was no report of any damage.

There were at least three drone attacks in the Miranshah area of North Waziristan in October. On October 11, 18 insurgents, most reportedly Afghans, were killed in a drone strike in the nearby tribal region of Orakzai in the deadliest attack in more than a year.

On October 24, a US drone fired two missiles at a suspected militant compound in Miranshah, killing three people, security officials had said. Locals had said three cows, apparently meant for sacrifice on Eidul Azha, were also killed in the attack.

Covert US attacks are unpopular in Pakistan. The government slams them as a violation of sovereignty, but American officials believe they are a vital weapon against militants.