Pakistanis die in ‘US drone raids’
Missile strikes launched against two vehicle in northwestern region.
The latest attacks came a day after a US drone killed at least 11 people, said by Pakistani officials to be pro-Taliban fighters, in compounds near the village of Datta Khel, west of Miran Shah.
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The tribal North Waziristan province is a refuge for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, and other armed groups, from where they launch attacks both within Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.
The US does not publically talk about drone strikes but such indicents occur regularly, targeting Taliban commanders in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt, which Washington calls the global headquarters of al-Qaeda.
A suspected US drone strike in Miran Shah in February killed Mohammed Haqqani, a brother of al-Qaeda-linked Sirajuddin Haqqani, whose network is fighting against US and local forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The drone war against Taliban leaders has focused increasingly on North Waziristan.
Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked groups are blamed for a wave of suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan that have killed more than 3,000 people since 2007.