MIR ALI: A suspected US missile strike killed 13 people Saturday in a Pakistani tribal region where several militant outfits are bent on attacking Western troops across the Afghan border, officials said.
The missile, apparently fired from an unmanned drone, struck a house in Haider Khel village near North Waziristan’s Mir Ali town, said two intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.
Local government official Noor Mohammad said at least 13 people had been killed, while the intelligence officials said some foreigners were among the dead. Their exact identities and nationalities were not immediately clear.
The US frequently uses missile strikes to take out Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Pakistan’s northwest, especially the lawless tribal regions where many insurgents hide.
This year, the vast majority of the missile strikes have landed in North Waziristan, a segment of the tribal belt that houses several militant groups that focus on attacking Western troops across the border in Afghanistan.
Source: AP