Two missiles were fired on a house in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.
Four militants were killed in a US drone strike in the North Waziristan Agency late Thursday night.
According to security officials, the drone fired two missiles at a vehicle parked in a bazaar in Datta Khel tehsil, which lies 40km west of Miramshah, the headquarters of the North Waziristan Agency.
“Four drones came to the area around midnight and fired two missiles targeting a militant vehicle,” said a local security official. “At least four militants were killed and their vehicle was blown up,” he added.
Another security official in Peshawar confirmed the attack and the casualties.
A tribesman who lives close to the site of attack told The Express Tribune it took place around 11:30 pm Thursday night. “Two drones had been hovering over the Datta Khel Bazaar since evening,” he added.
The tribesman claimed the suspected militant vehicle had been parked near his residence before the drone strike took place. According to him, other residents in his neighbourhood were suspicious towards the vehicle as well.
“The vehicle was parked near my residence for over an hour before it left,” said the tribesman, adding that he heard two massive explosions soon after. Prompted by the sound of the blasts, he said he walked towards the site of the attack where he saw the charred bodies of the militants and the remains of the destroyed vehicle.
“The bodies were mutilated beyond recognition… the militants’ identities could not be ascertained,” the tribesman continued. He added that local Taliban reached the site about 20 minutes later, cordoned off the surrounding area and moved the bodies to an undisclosed location.
Covert US drone strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of its sovereignty.
Last week, a UN envoy too declared the CIA-led drone campaign a violation of the country’s sovereignty. UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights Ben Emmerson had been visiting Islamabad as part of an investigation into civilian casualties caused by drone strikes.
According to Britain’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism, CIA drone attacks in Pakistan have killed up to 3,577 people since 2004, up to 884 of which were civilians.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 23rd, 2013.
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