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Central & South Asia
Pakistan deaths in drone attack
At least 13 people killed by suspected US missile in village in North Waziristan area.
Last Modified: 19 Jun 2010 08:36 GMT
US Predator unmanned drones have been used for missile attacks in Pakistan's northwest [AFP]

A missile, suspected to have been fired by an unmanned US drone, is reported to have killed 13 people and wounded seven others after it struck a house in the Mir Ali area of Pakistan's North Waziristan.

Two missiles struck the house in Haider Khel village on Saturday, a Pakistani intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told a Reuters journalist.

The intelligence official initially put the death toll at three, but Noor Mohammad, a local government official, said later in the day that at least 13 people had been killed but their identities were not yet clear.

The US frequently uses missile attacks to hit Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan's northwest, especially the tribal regions where many fighters are based.

This year, the vast majority of the missiles have landed in North Waziristan, a segment of the tribal belt that houses several groups of fighters.

Unpopular attacks

Pakistan publicly condemns the attacks as violations of its sovereignty, and the attacks are unpopular among the Pakistani people.

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But the Pakistani government is believed to assist in at least some of the missile attacks, although the US does not publicly acknowledge the existence of the covert, CIA-run operation.

In another incident, a roadside bomb in Dera Ismail Khan, which lies near the tribal belt, killed a civilian and wounded eight people, including six policemen.

Aslam Khatak, a police official, said that the attack happened as a police patrol vehicle travelled through the town.

Separately, assailiants opened fire on Saturday on a vehicle carrying Abdul Wahab, an area police chief, in the southwestern city of Quetta.

Hamid Shakeel, another police official, said that Wahab was critically wounded.

Source:
Agencies
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