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US drone attacks kill 18 people in Pakistan

03 February 2010 21:38 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. US drones have fired several missiles into Pakistan’s north-western region, killing at least 18 people and injuring several others, APA reports quoting Al Jazeera.

Reports say eighteen missiles were fired by the drones into the Degan area of North Waziristan near the Afghan border on Tuesday.

The US refuses to comment on the CIA-run drone program in Pakistan. Islamabad, however, strongly criticizes the strikes, saying that they have mostly killed civilians.

The attacks are said to target militant hideouts on Pakistani soil.

Hundreds of people, many of them civilians, have been killed since 2006 in CIA-operated drone strikes in Pakistan. The deadly raids have risen anti-American sentiment in the country.

The Islamabad government strongly criticizes the drone attacks. Confusingly, there have been reports that the unmanned aircraft take off from military bases within Pakistani territory.