Islamabad: A US drone strike early on Wednesday killed 25 people, including suspected militants in Pakistan's tribal district of North Waziristan along the border with Afghanistan, security sources said.
Two missiles fired by the drone destroyed a vehicle and a compound near Miranshah, the main town of the tribal district. Several local and foreign militants belonging to the Haqqani network were among the dead, the sources said.
US drones have regularly targeted North and South Waziristan tribal region, which America says provides sanctuary to Al Qaida and Taliban insurgents involved in attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan. Last month dozens of people were killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan.
Washington has been pressing Pakistan to launch a military offensive against the Haqqani group and other militants in North Waziristan, but the demands have yet to be met. Relations between the two countries have been marred since the unilateral US commando raid in May in which Osama Bin Laden died.
"More dead bodies have been dug out of the debris. Twenty-one militants from the Haqqani group were killed and three were injured," a Pakistani security officials said in Peshawar.
"It was Haqqani's compound and his fighters were using it as a camp. They used to gather round for midnight food," said another Pakistani official.
"All those killed were Haqqani's men and Afghans, but we have reports that some Arabs and Uzbeks were also present at the time of attack and were killed," the official added on condition of anonymity.
Although the United States does not publicly confirm Predator drone attacks, its military and the CIA in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the armed, unmanned aircraft.
— With inputs from AFP
