U.S. missile strike kills 20 militants in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Unmanned U.S. drone aircraft Tuesday fired four missiles into North Waziristan, a major sanctuary for al-Qaida and Taliban militants in Pakistan, killing at least 20 insurgents, local officials said.

The missiles struck a fortress-like compound and a vehicle in Ghulam Khan village on the Afghan border early in the morning.

"Some of the militants were on foot. They had just returned from Afghanistan when they were hit," an intelligence official in the region said.
"So far, the death toll is 20."
The attack happened in the Bangi Dar village of North Waziristan, a tribal region that is a base for insurgents responsible for many of the attacks on U.S. and NATO forces just across the border in Afghanistan.
The strike actually targeted militants on the Afghan side of the border, NBC reported. Bangi Dar straddles both sides of the border.
The U.S. has increasingly relied on missiles fired by unmanned drones — a program that is rarely officially acknowledged — to kill suspected Taliban and al-Qaida-linked fighters based in the northwest.


Tuesday's strike was the eighth this month. So far this year, nearly 100 such strikes have occurred in Pakistan, a major surge over previous years. Nearly all have hit North Waziristan, the mountainous border region where the Islamists run a virtual mini-state outside the Pakistani government's control

Increased missile attacks At least four missiles were fired before dawn Tuesday, two at the mud-brick house and two at the vehicle, two Pakistani intelligence officials said. Four of the slain were in the vehicle while at least 11 died in the flattened home.
The identity of the dead was not known, and agents were trying to get more details, said the officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the policy of the intelligence agency.

There was no independent confirmation of the incident as the war zone is in a remote part of Pakistan. Militant groups often dispute officials' account of such attacks and casualties.
North Waziristan is the main base of Afghan militants fighting Western forces across the border. The United States has stepped up missile strikes there in recent months as it struggles to stabilize war-ravaged Afghanistan.
The United States has long demanded Pakistan launch a military offensive in North Waziristan, but Islamabad is reluctant to do so, and says it needs to consolidate gains made in earlier offensives before opening a new front.
But critics says Pakistan's reluctance stems from its desire to use the Afghan Taliban as bargaining chips in a final settlement with Kabul once foreign forces leave.