Three U.S. drone strikes kill scores of suspected militants in Pakistan

Three U.S. drone strikes kill scores of suspected militants in Pakistan

2011-06-06 19:20:49 GMT+7 (ICT)

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Dozens of suspected militants were killed in Pakistan after three consecutive air strikes were fired by U.S. drones in the country's volatile tribal region near Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

In the early hours of Monday, U.S. drones fired two air strikes, officials told local media, adding that the several suspected militants were killed in the first strike at around 2 a.m. local time in Shalam Raghzai, near Wana, South Waziristan, while the second struck a suspected militant compound in the Wacha Dana area some 4 hours later.

The third strike targeted a vehicle a few hours after the first two strikes, in Dare Nishtar in Shawal.

According to the Express Tribune, a total of 19 people were killed, but Pakistan's the Nation reported that 23 suspected militants had been killed during the air strikes, stating that nine militants killed in the attack belonged to Punjabi Talban, seven were foreigners and seven were local fighters.

The latest drone strikes come after al-Qaeda's network leader in Pakistan, Ilyas Kashmir, was killed during air strikes last Friday in South Waziristan.

Kashmiri, 47, was the suspected leader of Pakistan's 313 Brigade of Harkatul Jihad al Islami.

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.

In April, over 40 people were killed in U.S. drone strikes in the volatile tribal region of North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan, prompting thousands of Pakistanis to gather and protest against the attacks during a two-day sit-in.

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. Since August 2008, there have been over 250 drone attacks that have reportedly killed more than 1,500 people in north and South Waziristan

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.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-06