14 killed in North Waziristan drone strike

Two drone strikes target militant compounds in Miranshah and Dattakhel.

PESHAWAR: At least fourteen people have been killed in a suspected US drone strike near Miranshah, North Waziristan.

The missile strike targeted a building allegedly housing militants in the area.

A security official said two missiles were fired at a vehicle soon after it left a militant compound near Miranshah. He said that the attack blew up the vehicle and also damaged the compound they had been inside.

Another official said the pilotless aircraft fired four missiles in two separate raids on the car in Dandey Saidgai village, confirming the deaths of eight militants.

Another six miltants were killed by a second drone strike in Dattakhel.

The ongoing US drone campaign has stepped up the number of attacks in Fata, and Nato helicopters from Afghanistan have pursued militants into Pakistani territory.

According to an earlier report in The Express Tribune, more than 150 people have been killed in such strikes since September, heightening tensions with Islamabad over US criticism of Pakistan’s failure so far to launch a ground offensive in North Waziristan. Most recently US President Barack Obama on an official visit to India said Pakistan was not acting quickly enough to deal with militancy within its borders.

The United States does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its military and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the pilotless aircraft in the region.