Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

US drone strike kills 4 in Pakistan's tribal region: witnesses

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, March 26, IRNA - At least six people have been killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region, witnesses said Thursday.

The late Wednesday drone attack at the house of a local tribesman Malik Ghulam Khan in Mir Ali area was the second in Waziristan region in few hours.

Another US drone strike in South Waziristan Wednesday evening killed at least seven people.

Witnesses said that the North Waziristan attack killed all locals and that there was no al-Qaeda or senior Taliban figure when the attack happened at around 1:30 a.m. at a small village Eso Khel near the Afghan border.

In the earlier attack the drone hit two vehicles in Makeen area of South Waziristan, killing seven foreigners, security officials said.

The area is controlled by Baitullah Mehsood, the chief of Pakistani Taliban.

The US on Wednesday offered $5 million for information leading to Baitullah.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States carries out these attacks and at least 38 such attacks in Pakistan since august last year.

Leon Panetta said in February after his appointment that US aerial attacks against al-Qaeda and other extremist strongholds inside Pakistan would continue, despite concerns about a popular Pakistani backlash.