US drone strike kills four in North Waziristan: Officials
Drone targets compound in Tehsil Mir Ali with four missiles.
There has been an upsurge in US drone strikes, particularly in this district. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
MIR ALI:
A US drone strike destroyed a militant compound in North Waziristan belt on Thursday, killing at least four militants, local security officials said.
Four missiles hit the house in Heso Khel village on the edge of Mir Ali town, around 35 kilometres (21 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in the district of North Waziristan, a notorious stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.
“A US drone fired four missiles. At least four militants have been killed, the compound was completely destroyed,” a security official based in Miranshah told AFP.
A senior security official in Peshawar confirmed the attack and added that the identity of those killed was not yet known.
Thursday’s strike brings to 34 the number of militants reported killed in Pakistan in five drone strikes since January 1.
The covert strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against Islamist militants.
According to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, between 2,627 and 3,457 people have been reportedly killed by US drones in Pakistan since 2004, including between 475 and nearly 900 civilians.
A US drone strike destroyed a militant compound in North Waziristan belt on Thursday, killing at least four militants, local security officials said.
Four missiles hit the house in Heso Khel village on the edge of Mir Ali town, around 35 kilometres (21 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in the district of North Waziristan, a notorious stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.
“A US drone fired four missiles. At least four militants have been killed, the compound was completely destroyed,” a security official based in Miranshah told AFP.
A senior security official in Peshawar confirmed the attack and added that the identity of those killed was not yet known.
Thursday’s strike brings to 34 the number of militants reported killed in Pakistan in five drone strikes since January 1.
The covert strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against Islamist militants.
According to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, between 2,627 and 3,457 people have been reportedly killed by US drones in Pakistan since 2004, including between 475 and nearly 900 civilians.