'US drone strikes kill 18 in Pak'

A barrage of US missiles killed 18 militants in Pakistan's tribal district of South Waziristan, destroying a vehicle and compounds on Monday in attacks just hours apart, local officials said.

A barrage of US missiles killed 18 militants in Pakistan's tribal district of South Waziristan, destroying a vehicle and compounds on Monday in attacks just hours apart, local officials said.

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The three US drone strikes were reported just days after Pakistani officials said they believed senior al Qaeda commander Ilyas Kashmiri had died in a similar attack on late Friday, also in South Waziristan on the Afghan border.

"A US drone fired two missiles on a militant vehicle killing three rebels," a senior Pakistani security official told AFP.

Another official confirmed the strike and casualties, saying that the death toll could rise further.

Two earlier US drone strikes within minutes of eachother destroyed separate compounds on Monday, killing 15 militants, local security officials said.