US drones kill many militants in Pakistan

Islamabad, Jun 6: US drones targeted a madrassa and a house in South Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan today (June 6), killing at least 14 suspected militants, security sources said.

The drones fired four missiles at the seminary and house near Wana, one of the main towns of South Waziristan Agency, early this morning. Sources said five foreign militants were among the dead.

A journalist in Wana said the other slain militants were from Punjab province and locals. Local sources said the unmanned spy planes targeted the compound of senior Taliban commander Malang in Shalam Dana area, 17 km from Wana.

Malang belongs to the Mullah Nazir faction of the Taliban, which controls Wana and nearby areas. This was the second drone strike in South Waziristan in four days.

On Friday night, a US drone strike killed al Qaeda-linked terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri and eight other militants. Kashmiri was wanted by the US, India and Pakistan for several terror attacks.

Kashmiri was linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks and last month's brazen attack on a naval airbase in Karachi that killed 10 security personnel.

Footage on television showed the mangled parts of the vehicle hit by the blast lying at the bus stop, which is frequented by residents of Peshawar, Kohat and the nearby Khyber tribal region. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks.

A militant spokesman told TV news channels that the vehicle in the bus stop was targeted because members of an anti-Taliban militia were in it.

The attacks came two days after a US drone strike in South Waziristan that is believed to have killed Al Qaida-linked terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri.

The Pakistani Taliban have carried out a series of attacks to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden in a US raid in the garrison city of Abbottabad on May 2.

PTI