Nine extremists killed in latest US drone attack in North Waziristan

Islamabad, Mar.17 (ANI): At least nine suspected Taliban insurgents were killed in the latest volley of drone attacks in North Waziristan on Wednesday.

According to officials, there were two drone strikes in the region which targeted militant hideouts and vehicles killing the extremists on the spot.

In the first attack, unmanned Predator aircraft fired four missiles at a vehicle in Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, killing six militants.

Just an hour after, drones struck again in Madakhel town, about 25 miles west of Miramshah, killing three more militants, The Dawn reports.

The strikes come less than a week after 14 suspected Taliban extremists, including top militant commander, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, were killed in a couple of missile hits in the region.

US drone attacks routinely target Taliban and Al Qaeda commanders in Pakistan's lawless tribal regions along the Afghanistan border.

A US drone strike in Miranshah in February killed Muhammad Haqqani, a brother of al Qaeda-linked warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani, whose network is fighting against US and local forces in Afghanistan.

The frequency of missile hits has increased considerably in North Waziristan following a bomb attack on a CIA camp in Afghanistan in December last year, which killed seven top US intelligence officials.

Although Pakistan publicly opposes the attacks, saying they violate its sovereignty and fuel anti-Americanism among the population, it is believed that it was sharing intelligence with he US about the insurgents and their hide-outs. (ANI)