MIRAMSHAH: Two US drone strikes on Friday killed at least ten militants, including some foreign fighters, in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border, security officials said.
Both strikes hit North Waziristan district, a renowned hub for Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
The first struck a militant compound on the outskirts of North Waziristan’s main town of Miramshah.
It was followed within an hour by a second strike that targeted a car travelling in Datta Khel, a small town 30 kilometres from Miramshah, officials said.
“A US drone fired two missiles on a house used by militants as a compound. Six militants have been killed and three wounded in this attack,” a security official in Peshawar told AFP by telephone of the first strike.
Intelligence officials in Miramshah said all those killed in that strike were local militants. One official said the house was completely destroyed.
“All those killed were local militants. We have no report about the presence of any ‘high-value’ target,” the intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Soon after the attack, militants surrounded the house and began rescue work, residents in Miramshah said.
“They have recovered six dead bodies and three injured from the debris,” a local resident told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Four militants were killed in a car by the second strike, officials said. “US drones fired three missiles at the car, killing at least four militants inside the car,” a security official in Peshawar told AFP.
Officials said those killed in that strike were foreign militants whose nationalities were not yet known.
Two intelligence officials in Miramshah confirmed both the attacks and the death toll.
Source: DAWN