26 die as US drones hit tribal council in Pakistan
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, March 17, IRNA -- Two US drone aircraft Thursday fired missiles at a tribal ‘jirga’ or council of elders in a Pakistani tribal region and killed 26 tribesmen, a tribal elder said.
The tribesmen were holing the jirga to resolve dispute over the ownership of minerals in the mountains in North Waziristan tribal region, he said on phone from Miranshah, center of North Waziristan.
The tribesmen from Ismail Khel tribe were holding meeting at Nawai Adda area, some 25 kilometers from Miranshah, when the U.S. spy planes fired four missiles at 11:30 a.m., local time.
Officials confirmed deaths of 26 people while 15 others were injured, the tribal elder said. He said that nearly six tribal elders were among those died in the strike.
Locals said no Taliban militant was participating in the jirga and the wrong the American spies passed wrong information for the strike. Sources also said that spies may have used their personal enmity and provided incorrect information to the CIA-run drones.
The injured were transferred to the hospital in Miranshah by the locals. Several injured were registered critical and doctors said death toll may rise.
Some sources claimed that militants were holding a meeting when the drones hit the compound.
Member National Assembly from the region, Kamran Khan, condemned the drone strike and said that mostly innocent people were killed and injured in the Thursday’s strike.
Local residents said they had seen drones hovering over the area after the attack.
The Datta Khel region has frequently been targeted by the CIA-operated spy planes over the past two years.
This was the 23rd drone attack carried out this year, according to reports.
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