Drone strike kills senior al Qaeda leader in South Waziristan

Drone targets house, vehicle in the Sheen Warsak area near Wana. Al Qaeda leader Abdur Rahman Yamani.

WANA: Three people including a senior al Qaeda leader were killed in a drone strike in the Ghwa Khwa area in Wana area of South Waziristan on Saturday. The area is located near Wana.

An official of the security forces from the area confirmed that around 19 kilometers south-west of Wana, foreign fighter Abdur Rahman Yamani was in his house when a US drone fired two missiles and killed him.

The official added that militants from the nearby areas rushed to the site and surrounded the areas after the assault.

Sources confirmed that a drone had also targeted a vehicle close to the house.

An earlier drone strike in the Lawa Kanda area of South Waziristan had killed two militants.

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.