‘Several TTP militants’ killed in suspected US drone strike in North Waziristan

The strike would only be the second such attack since President Donald Trump took office

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A suspected US drone strike killed several Taliban militants in North Waziristan close to the Afghanistan border, one militant commander and intelligence sources said on Thursday, in a rare strike on Pakistani soil.

If confirmed, the air strike, which happened on Wednesday, would only be the second drone attack inside the country since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

Abdullah Wazirstani, spokesperson for North Waziristan Taliban, a group linked to TTP, said the strike killed three civilian "labourers" and seven militants from TTP.



Malik Waheedullah, a local tribal leader, told Reuters he saw two missiles strike a mountain home which caught fire. "I drove away as fast as I could," he said.

One intelligence official and government source said they believed the strike to be a US drone attack.

US officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



North Waziristan was a Taliban stronghold until 2014, when Pakistan Army launched a major offensive against the group and pushed many of its fighters across the border into Afghanistan.

Sources from the TTP identified one of the dead militants as Abdur Rahman, a senior commander of TTP.

US drone attacks inside Pakistan have become rare over the past few years. In its last high-profile attack, the United States last May killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in Balochistan.