US drone kills four in North Waziristan

PESHAWAR: A US drone strike killed at least four militants on Sunday in a restive Pakistani tribal area, security officials said.

The unmanned aircraft fired two missiles, hitting a vehicle and a house in the Hisokhel village of North Waziristan tribal district, security officials told AFP.

“A US drone fired two missiles on a vehicle in Hisokhel village and at least four militants were killed,” a senior Pakistani security official said.

A nearby house was also damaged in the missile strike, he added. The identities of the militants killed in the attack, which took place some 30 kilometers (18 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, were not immediately clear, he said.

Another security official and a local intelligence official confirmed the attack and casualties. The attack came as the world observed the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Although the US does not publicly confirm drone attacks, its military and the CIA in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the unmanned Predator aircraft in the region.

North Waziristan is the headquarters of the Haqqani leadership and the main militant bastion in the semi-autonomous tribal belt.

The Haqqani network is considered the deadliest enemy of US troops in eastern Afghanistan. It was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani and is run by his son, Sirajuddin, both designated “global terrorists” by Washington. afp

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