Four militants killed in US drone attack in Pak's northwest

 A US drone targeted and destroyed a vehicle in which militants were travelling, killing four terrorists in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal region, officials said today.

Peshawar: A US drone targeted and destroyed a vehicle in which militants were travelling, killing four terrorists in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal region, officials said today.

The drone strikes yesterday hit the vehicle in Shawal area, which is a thickly forested mountainous area on the Afghan border.

Two missiles were fired which destroyed the vehicle, an official said.

"All four people travelling in it were killed," he said.

The dead bodies were not immediately identified but officials said that those killed were militants.

Shawal has become a militant stronghold as they have taken refuge in the inaccessible areas of the region after military last year launched a massive operation to flush out terrorists from North Waziristan.

Army says that more than 90 per cent area of the region has been cleared of militants, who have either been killed or escaped to the border region.

Pakistan opposes drone attacks and frequently lodges protests over it but US has refused to stop them.

A report in April claimed that President Barack Obama secretly approved a waiver for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drone programme in Pakistan, doing away with certain requirements that were meant to reduce the risk of civilian deaths.

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