U.S. drone strikes kill 4 suspected militants in Pakistan

[News_Editor]

U.S. drone strikes kill 4 suspected militants in Pakistan

2011-05-10 21:26:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. drone strikes killed at least four suspected militants and injured another five people on Tuesday in Pakistan's volatile tribal region, officials said.

The unmanned aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle in the Baghar area of Angur Adda, located in the country's South Waziristan near the Afghan border, Pakistan's Nation reported.

Last Friday, at least 12 people were killed when U.S. drone strikes fired eight missiles at a home and vehicle in Vatoi Village in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan. The air strike marked the first U.S. drone attack since the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed over one week ago during a U.S. operation in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Controversy has surrounded the drone strikes as local residents and officials have blamed them for killing innocent civilians and motivating young men to join the Taliban. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in its annual report that the U.S. drones strikes were responsible for 957 extra-legal killings in 2010.

The border region has been targeted by over 20 U.S. drone attacks this year. Since August 2008, there have been over 250 drone attacks that have reportedly killed more than 1,500 people in north and south Waziristan.

In April, over 40 people were killed in U.S. drone strikes in the region, prompting thousands of Pakistanis to gather and protest against the attacks during a two-day sit-in, and on March 17, more than 40 civilians were killed in North Waziristan when U.S. missiles hit a residential area where local elders were meeting. The incident increased tension within the Pakistan-U.S. alliance.

Pakistan's Afghan border, which the United States considers to be the most dangerous place on Earth, is known to be a stronghold of the Taliban's Haqqani Network, considered one of the top terrorist organizations and threats to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

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