U.S. drone attack kills seven in Pakistan
By Haji Mujtaba and Augustine Anthony
Reuters story appearing on Washingtonpost.com
Saturday, April 24, 2010; 1:33 PM
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone aircraft fired three missiles into Pakistan's North Waziristan region on the Afghan border Saturday, killing seven militants, Pakistani intelligence officials and residents said.
The strike targeted a militant compound in the town of Mir Ali, some 24 km (15 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. The region is known as a hotbed of Taliban and al Qaeda militants.
"The place where the missiles struck is still on fire and militants have surrounded the area and were not letting anyone close to the site of the attack," said an intelligence official who declined to be identified.
"We have reports of seven militants killed in the attack."
The United States has stepped up missile strikes in Pakistan's northwestern region since a Jordanian suicide bomber killed seven CIA employees at a U.S. base across the border in Afghanistan's eastern province of Khost in late December.
Most of the attacks this year have been in North Waziristan.
U.S. ally Pakistan officially objects to the drone strikes, saying they are a violation of its sovereignty and fuel anti-U.S. feeling, which complicates Pakistan's efforts against militancy.
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