Latest US drone strike kills four militants in North Waziristan

Peshawar, Mar.29 (ANI): In yet another missile strike carried out by the US drones in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan region, at least four militants were killed and five injured, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

According to officials, two missiles were fired from an unmanned Predator aircraft targeting a house, which was being used as a militant hideout in Mir Ali, the second major town of North Waziristan.

The identities of the people killed could not be ascertained, The Dawn reports.

"The militants have cordoned off the area where the missiles struck, and have prevented anyone to go there," an official said.

Mir Ali is believed to be a stronghold of top militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who has links both with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

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

A similar missile hit in Miranshah, the largest town in North Waziristan, in February had 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)