Pakistan: US drone strike kills four in North Waziristan
This is the first US drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal belt after a two-month break
KARACHI, Pakistan
At least four suspected militants were killed in an alleged U.S. drone strike in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region on Thursday, a Pakistani army official said.
A senior army official said that two missiles fired from a U.S. drone hit a compound in Dattakhel town near the Afghan border, killing four suspected militants.
This was the first U.S. drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal belt after a two-month break.
Fourteen suspected militants were killed in two U.S. drone strikes in June in the adjoining Shawal valley.
More than 3,450 people have been killed in over 400 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004. According to international think tanks and human rights groups, including Amnesty international and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 70 percent of drone victims were unarmed civilians.
Despite Pakistan's public objections to the U.S. drone strikes, it is rumored to have given tacit approval to the ongoing controversial operations. Pakistan has also developed its own drone to use in the militant-hit northwestern tribal belt.
Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.
