US spy aircraft kills 4 in Pakistan tribal region
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, March 17, IRNA -- At least four suspected militants died on Wednesday in a US missile strike on a vehicle in a Pakistani tribal region, security officials said.
The drone fired five missiles on a vehicle in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, which also injured two other militants.
Residents said they heard huge blasts after US drone aircraft started morning flights in the region.
Those killed could not be identified but security sources said that foreign militants were among those killed.
Datta Khel, some 15 kilometers from Miranshah, the center of North Waziristan, is considered to be main hideout of the Pakistani and foreign militants.
Residents said that Taliban militants rushed to the site of the strike and shifted the bodies and injured to unknown place.
The US has stepped up drone strikes in North and South Waziristan in recent days since the arrest of CIA contractor, Raymond Davis, in late January for killing two Pakistanis.
Pakistani media reports that Davis had contacts in Waziristan to receive intelligence on the movement of the militants.
CIA considers North Waziristan, the main launching pad for cross border attacks on the US-led foreign and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
Despite pressure from Washington, Pakistan is reluctant to launch operation in North Waziristan, arguing its troops are already overstretched and has no resources.
Pakistan publicly opposes the missile strikes, saying they are counter-productive and spark anti-US citizens. But opposition says that the strikes are conducted with the consent of the government, the charges denied by the government.
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