Peshawar: At least 15 militants, including a
Pakistani Taliban commander and two foreign fighters, were
killed in two separate US drone strikes in the restive North
Waziristan tribal region, sources said.
A US drone targeted a vehicle and a motorcycle in North
Waziristan today, killing six suspected Taliban fighters.
The unmanned Predator drone fired two missiles at the
vehicle and the motorcycle in Khaisor area, five kilometres
north of Mirali, the main town in North Waziristan Agency.
The area is considered a hub of Taliban fighters linked
to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Haqqani networks.
The drone attack was the second strike in this area since
yesterday.
Nine militants, including a Pakistani Taliban commander
and two foreign fighters, were killed when a drone targeted a
house yesterday.
The slain commander, identified as Mustafa, was
associated with Sadiq Noor's group, and was said to be a key
Taliban figure in North Waziristan.
The identity of the foreign militants could not
immediately be ascertained though Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks
operate in the region.
North Waziristan is a magnet for jihadis seeking to
fight NATO forces in Afghanistan. The area has witnessed the
largest concentration of drone strikes this year with 100
missile strikes reported so far, almost double the figure of
last year.
US is putting pressure on Pakistan to launch a large
scale military operation in the area, but Pakistan government
has not acceded to the request, saying that the hands of its
forces were already full with campaigns in neighbouring South
Waziristan and Swat.
Washington has recently sought to expand the areas of
drone strikes to target Taliban and al Qaeda leadership, but
Islamabad refuses to request.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 00:46