Unmanned US drone aircraft yesterday fired four missiles into North Waziristan, a major sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan, killing at least 20 insurgents, local officials said.
The missiles struck a fortress-like compound and a vehicle in Ghulam Khan village on the Afghan border early in the morning.
“Some of the militants were on foot. They had just returned from Afghanistan when they were hit,” an intelligence official in the region said. “So far, the death toll is 20.”
There was no independent confirmation of the incident as the war zone is located in a remote part of Pakistan. Militant groups often dispute officials’ account of such attacks and casualties.
North Waziristan is the main base of Afghan militants fighting Western forces across the border. The US has stepped up missile strikes there in recent months as it struggles to stabilize war-ravaged Afghanistan.
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