Suspected US Drone Strike Kills 7 in Northwest Pakistan

Posted November 15th, 2011 at 4:35 am (UTC-5)
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Pakistani security officials say a suspected U.S. drone attack has killed at least seven militants near the country's border with Afghanistan.

The officials say unmanned aircraft fired two missiles Tuesday at a suspected militant compound in Miranshah, the main town in Pakistan's tribal area of North Waziristan.

The area is known as a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants.

Meanwhile, government officials say the Pakistani military killed 16 suspected Taliban insurgents Tuesday during an offensive in the northwestern ethnic Pashtun tribal area of Orakzai.

Officials say ground forces backed by helicopter gunships attacked several militant hideouts in Orakzai, one of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal agencies and the only one that does not share a border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan has been under increasing pressure to dismantle the havens that Afghan militants have created in the remote tribal areas.

The Pakistani military has launched several operations against militants throughout the country's tribal belt.

U.S. officials have never publicly acknowledged the use of drone strikes against militants in Pakistan's tribal areas, but privately they have confirmed their existence to various news outlets.

Pakistan has condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty, but the strikes are believed to be carried out with the help of Pakistani intelligence.