American drone kills seven near Miranshah: officials

By
AFP
|
American drone kills seven near Miranshah: officials
MIRANSHAH: US drones fired two missiles into a compound in northwestern tribal belt Friday, killing at least seven alleged militants, local security officials said.

The attack took place in the village on the border of North and South
Waziristan tribal areas, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Miranshah a notorious stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

"Six drones were hovering in the sky at the time of the attack. One drone fired two missiles at a house," a security official in Miranshah told a foreign news agency.

"The compound was completely destroyed. The militants had surrounded the area after the attack," the official added.

Reports have it that the attack also left at least five people injured.

A security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar confirmed the
attack.

The covert strikes are publicly criticized by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against militants.

Few of the victims are publicly identified, but on January 3 Pakistani officials said warlord Mullah Nazir was killed in a strike on South Waziristan.

He sent fighters into battle in Afghanistan and was accused of sheltering Al-Qaeda in South Waziristan.

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. (Reuters)