Miranshah, April 13: A US drone fired two missiles into a Taliban compound in Pakistan’s tribal area near the Afghan border late Monday, killing at least five militants, security officials said.
The compound, located in mountainous Boya village about 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of North Waziristan region’s main town of Miranshah, belonged to a militant commander.
“The compounds was owned by local Taliban commander Tariq Khan,” a security official told AFP, adding that the unmanned aircraft fired two missiles.
“We have confirmation of five people killed,” an administration official said, adding that the death toll may rise. AT least two militants were believed to have been wounded.
North Waziristan has been increasingly targeted in the covert US drone campaign since a Jordanian Al-Qaeda double agent blew himself up killing seven CIA employees in a neighbouring Afghan province in December.
A covert US drone war targets Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked commanders in the nuclear-armed country’s northwestern tribal belt, where militants have carved out havens in mountainous areas outside direct government control.
Washington calls Pakistan’s tribal belt the global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous region in the world. Islamist militants in the area are believed to be fuelling the nearly nine-year insurgency in Afghanistan.
More than 830 people have been killed in more than 90 US strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, with a surge in the past year as President Barack Obama has put Pakistan at the heart of his fight against Al-Qaeda.
Monday’s missile attack came as Pakistani security forces killed 39 militants in heavy fighting in Orakzai, another tribal region, officials said.
–Agencies