Miranshah, January 17: A US drone attack Sunday killed at least 15 militants in a restive Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.
The attack took place in Shaktoi area, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Miranshah, the main town in the rugged tribal region of North Waziristan, a senior military official.
“The target was a militant compound,” he said, adding that at least 15 militants were killed.
The toll may go up, another official said.
“The drones are apparently tracking and targeting Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, whose presence is frequently reported in the area,” one official said.
The Pakistani Taliban released an audio recording allegedly made Friday of Mehsud denying he had been killed in a US bombing raid on Thursday.
Sunday’s attack was the tenth missile strike by an unmanned US spy plane so far this year, as the administration of US President Barack Obama puts Pakistan at the heart of its fight against Al-Qaeda and Islamist extremists.
The latest attack also brought to 41 the number of militants reported to have been killed in three attacks since Thursday.
Missiles fired from an unmanned US aircraft killed at least 15 Islamist insurgents at a training camp in the lawless northwest tribal belt on Thursday, and security officials said Mehsud may have been among the dead.
The US drones kept up their bombardment Friday, with at least 11 militants killed in two separate attacks in the same region.
The Pakistan government and the army say they cannot confirm Mehsud’s death while the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group he commands say he is alive and well and sent the recording to media Friday to back up their claims
—Agencies