Updated on
Summary
Missiles from US drones slammed into two militants hideouts killing thirteen militants on Wednesday in tribal region of North Waziristan, security officials said.The afternoon attack by a drone aircraft struck a militants hideout in Sang Zalai area of Datta Khel, 50 kilometres of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan.A US drone fired two missiles, targeting a militants hideout and killing four militants, a senior security official in the area told.The identity of militants is not known yet. It is also not clear whether any high value target was present in the area when the attack took place.The second attack came shortly afterwards when US drones attacked another alleged militants hideout killing nine militants. Both the places were completely destroyed by the attack.A security official confirmed the strike however number of casualties is feared to increase.It was not clear which group was targeted. Seven US missile strikes in the same area of North Waziristan have killed 44 people in the past month, although the identities of those killed are hard to verify as the deaths are deep in the territory.The attacks on Pakistani territory fuel anti-Americanism in the nation and the government in Islamabad publicly condemns the strikes. Analysts say however the strikes have Islamabad's tacit approval.More than 70 US drone missile strikes have killed at least 662 people in Pakistan since August 2008. The United States does not confirm drone attacks, but its military is the only force that deploys drones in the region.North Waziristan neighbors South Waziristan, where Pakistan has been focusing its most ambitious military offensive yet against Taliban militants. It sent about 30,000 troops into the region on October 17.
