Islamabad: US drones targeted a vehicle and a
compound in North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan on Sunday,
killing six suspected militants, officials said.
The CIA-operated spy planes fired six missiles at the
house and the vehicle in Datta Khel area, which has witnessed
numerous drone attacks over the past two years.
The missile strike occurred in an area located a few
kilometres from Miranshah, the main town in the tribal
district.
Two suspected militants were injured in the attack,
officials told TV news channels.
The large number of missiles fired seemed to indicate an
important militant was targeted.
The identities of those killed could not immediately be
ascertained.
Residents of Miranshah said on phone that armed Taliban
fighters arrived at the site and removed the bodies.
Drones had been flying over the area since morning. The
strike was launched at 11.45 am.
Local residents said they had not approach the site
because of fears of another missile strike.
This was the third drone attack in Waziristan in four
days. At least 11 suspected militants, including a Taliban
commander, were killed in strikes in South and North
Waziristan on Thursday.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani yesterday said that no
permission had been given to the US to launch drone attacks on
targets inside Pakistan.
"There is no such permission," Gilani, who is in Australia
for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, told a group
of Pakistani expatriates.
Gilani said the drone attacks were counter-productive
because they caused collateral damage and undermined his
government`s efforts to garner support against extremists and
terrorists.
The drone attacks were one of the reasons why Pakistan-US
relations had deteriorated in recent months, he said.
Hundreds of tribesmen from Waziristan staged a rally in
Islamabad on Friday and sought an immediate halt to the drone
strikes.
They said innocent people were killed in the strikes.
US officials have said the Datta Khel is an important base
for Afghan and Pakistani Taliban commanders as well as Al
Qaeda elements.
The US has pressured Pakistan to target militants in North
Waziristan, saying they stage cross-border attacks against
American troops in Afghanistan.
PTI
