Asia

Asia

Drone Strikes Kill 11 in NW Pakistan

08 September 2010 22:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Pakistani officials say two suspected U.S. drone strikes have killed at least 11 people in Pakistan’s tribal region along the Afghan border, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.

The first strike took place Wednesday in the village of Dande Darpa Khel in North Waziristan tribal district, a stronghold for Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants.

Intelligence officials say the strike targeted a compound of a local militant believed to be associated with the Haqqani network, killing at least seven suspected militants.

In the second attack, a drone targeted a vehicle in Datta Khel town, 40 kilometers west of the region’s main town of Miranshah, killing four militants.

The United States has stepped up its missile attacks in North Waziristan in an effort to root out insurgents responsible for planning and staging attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The strikes come less than a day after a car bomb ripped through a police complex in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 50 others.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack. However, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman told reporters Tuesday the militant group will target security forces because the Pakistani government is allowing the U.S. to carry out drone attacks.