Drone Strike: Three militants killed, say officials

MIRAMSHAH: A US drone strike on Monday killed three militants in the country’s northwestern tribal region, a hotbed of Taliban insurgents near the Afghan border, officials said. The drone fired two missiles into a vehicle as it drove through a village near Mubarak Shah town about 15 kilometres east of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan district, security officials said. Three militants have been killed in the attack,” a security official said. “The vehicle was moving. There are reports that four militants were killed in the strike but we are verifying the death of the fourth militant. We have confirmed the death of three others.” The identities of the dead were not clear. A similar attack on Sunday killed four militants in Datta Khel town about 30 kilometres west of Miramshah. The latest attack is the 60th US drone strike reported in the country so far this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2011.