US drone attack kills five suspected militants in North Waziristan

Peshawar, Mar.9 (ANI): At least five people were killed and three others injured in a suspected US drone attack in Maley Khan Sirai area located near Miranshah bazaar in North Waziristan.

A security official in Peshawar, while confirming the drone attack, said the unmanned Predator aircrafts targeted a compound in Miramshah where some militants had gathered, The Dawn reports.

"Two drones fired three missiles in Miranshah bazaar. Two buildings in the centre of the bazaar were hit and destroyed in the attack," a local resident said while requesting anonymity.

US drone attacks have recently increased in the Pak-Afghan border, which is the main hub of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The attack was the second major US strike in the region in the last one month.

In February, brother of Al-Qaeda linked extremist commander Sirajuddin Haqqani, was reportedly killed in a similar attack.

The Pakistani military, which is currently involved in an offensive in South Waziristan, is under increasing pressure from the United States to expand the offensive to North Waziristan.

US officials believe that the top leadership of the Pakistani Taliban has fled the Pakistani offensive in South Waziristan and is currently hiding in the North.

The Pak-Taliban had claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on a C.I.A. base in Khost, Afghanistan, in December, killing eight people.

The American drone attacks have increased since then, and one of them is thought to have killed the leader of Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud last month.

The Taliban insists he is still alive. (ANI)