Six militants killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, April 13, IRNA -- In a break of almost a month, U.S. drone aircraft struck Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal region on Wednesday and killed at least six people, security officials said.
It is the first strike since March 17 when last time U.S. missiles hit a jirga or council of tribal elders in North Waziristan region, killing 44 civilians and injuring many more.
The attack had caused widespread anger in Pakistan and the army chief General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani condemned the attack in rare reaction.
The Wednesday attack came at a time when Pakistan’s intelligence chief is in the U.S. for talks with the CIA officials, asking for prior information and cut in the drone strikes.
In the first attack, a pilotless aircraft fired three missiles at a house in Angoor Adda area in South Waziristan, close to the Afghan border. More missiles were fired some time later which hit vehicle and a motorcycle.
Security officials claimed that all died were Afghan Taliban. But there was no independent confirmation about identity of the slain men.
The Inter-Services Intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Shuja Pasha, is holding talks with the CIA officials in the U.S. to revive relationship, strained over the past few months.
Pakistani officials have been quoted by the local media as saying that joint ISI and CIA operations have been halted for three months.
The U.S. drones regularly hit hideouts of the militants in the Pakistani tribal region, which Washington sees as the center of Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants. Pakistan publicly opposes the U.S. strikes inside the country's tribal area and seeks the drone technology.
President Asif Ali Zardari is scheduled to travel to the U.S. in the coming months, who said in a recent interview that he would again ask President Obama to give drone technology to Pakistan to conduct operations against the militants.
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