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US drone strike kills four in Pakistan

21 July 2011 01:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A non-UN-sanctioned US drone attack has killed at least four people and wounded several others in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The CIA-operated unmanned aerial vehicle fired two missiles at a house in Mir Ali area, which borders Afghanistan.

The death toll is expected to rise as some of the injured are said to be in critical condition.

North Waziristan and other tribal regions in northwestern Pakistan have been frequently targeted by US drones over the past few years.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the unsanctioned attacks.

The aerial raids, initiated by former US President George W. Bush, have escalated under President Barack Obama.

Washington claims the airstrikes target militants, but most of the attacks result in civilian casualties.

The issue of civilian casualties has strained relations between Islamabad and Washington with the Pakistani government repeatedly objecting to the attacks.

The UN has also condemned US drone strikes as a blatant violation of international law.

Philip Alston, UN special envoy on extrajudicial killings, said in a report in October 2010 that the attacks were undermining the rules designed to protect the right of life.

Alston also said he feared that the drone killings by the US Central Intelligence Agency could develop a "playstation" mentality.