US strike on suspected militant hideout kills four: officials
A US drone missile attack on a suspected militant hideout in a remote tribal area in northwest Pakistan early today killed at least four people, security officials said.
A US drone missile attack on a suspected militant hideout in a remote tribal area in northwest Pakistan early today killed at least four people, security officials said.
The pre-dawn strike targeted the suspected militant compound in Dandey Darpa Khel in the North Waziristan region near the Afghan border, a security official said.
"It was a drone strike and initial reports said at least three people were killed and several wounded," the official said, requesting anonymity.
A senior security official later said four people were killed and six wounded.
A third security official said two missiles were fired by the pilotless aircraft. They hit a house belonging to an Afghan refugee, he said.
"It was a suspected militant hideout," he added.
Afghan Taliban leader Jalaluddin Haqqani's group is said to be active in the area.
Haqqani served as a minister in the Taliban government which was ousted in late 2001 in the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Northwest Pakistan is seeing a surge in US strikes as the United States tries to stem the flow of militants waging a deadly insurgency against about 100,000 foreign troops stationed across the border.