Two US drone strikes kill five Taliban in Waziristan
19 June, 2014
MIRANSHAH: At least five militants were killed in two separate US drone strikes early Wednesday in a northwest tribal district where military has this week launched a major offensive.
Local security officials said six missiles hit three compounds in Dargah Mandi village in North Waziristan, around 10 kilometres west of the main town of Miranshah in an area considered a stronghold for the Qaeda-linked Haqqani network.
"US drones fired six missiles which hit three separate compounds in two villages, at least five militants have been killed," a local security official in Miranshah told AFP. The identities of those killed in the strikes were yet not clear, the official said.
The attacks took place just minutes apart. Two drones fired four missiles in the first strike, then a third drone fired a further two missiles in the second attack, the official said.
Another senior security official confirmed the strike and told AFP that a vehicle parked in one compound was also hit, adding the death toll could rise.
Washington reportedly suspended its drone programme in December to give Islamabad time to pursue a dialogue process with the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) aimed at ending a seven-year insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.
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