U.S. drone strikes kill 17 people in Pakistan's North Waziristan

[News_Editor]

U.S. drone strikes kill 17 people in Pakistan's North Waziristan

2010-12-28 22:40:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIRANSHAH, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Three U.S. drone attacks killed at least 17 people in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border on Tuesday, police said.

The first attack hit a compound in the Ghulam Khan area of North Waziristan, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Miranshah, which is the main town in the tribal area. The attack left six suspected Taliban militants killed, whose bodies were recovered in the following hours.

Later on Tuesday, a second drone strike hit the same village, destroying a compound and killing at least two people. At least one or both of the victims may have been civilians, although their identities were not immediately released.

A third unmanned U.S. aircraft later fired six missiles at three vehicles which were traveling near the border with Afghanistan. Nine people were killed in the attack and are believed to have been insurgents with the Haqqani Network, which is closely associated with the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

The Haqqani Network is considered one of the top terrorist organizations and threats to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. They are believed to be based in Pakistan's tribal region where access is legally restricted and is considered a dangerous territory.

The U.S. drone campaign in Pakistan is aimed at disrupting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the border area with Afghanistan. The U.S. considers the region as the most dangerous place on Earth.

But controversy has surrounded the drone strikes all year long as local residents and officials have blamed them for killing civilians and motivating young men to join the Taliban. In addition, the Pakistani government does not support the strikes.

So far this year, the United States has fired at least 115 missiles inside Pakistani territory, which is more than double than registered in 2009. On Monday, two separate U.S. drone strikes killed at least 22 people in the Mir Ali district in North Waziristan.

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