The strike came two days after a visit by Admiral Mike Mullen, the top US military official, to Islamabad. –File Photo
ISLAMABAD: Four missiles fired by two suspected US pilotless aircraft hit a house in Pakistan’s tribal region of North Waziristan on the Afghan border on Friday, killing five militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The drone strike happened in Mir Ali, a town about 35 kilometres east of the region’s main town of Miranshah.
“We are trying to gather information but according to initial reports, five militants were killed,” an intelligence official in the region, who requested not to be identified, told Reuters.
Another official also confirmed the attack and said the toll could be higher.
The strike came two days after a visit by Admiral Mike Mullen, the top US military official, to Islamabad in which he expressed concern over continuing links between Pakistan’s main intelligence agency, the ISI, and militants attacking US-led forces across the border in Afghanistan.
North Waziristan is a known sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants near the Afghan border.
The United States has been using drone attacks to target al Qaeda-linked militants over the past few years in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, a source of concern for the Pakistan government, which says civilian casualties stoke public anger and bolster support for militancy.
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