At least 3 soldiers killed, 15 injured in Pakistani bomb blast

At least 3 soldiers killed, 15 injured in Pakistani bomb blast

2011-07-05 21:30:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

MIRANSHAH, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- At least three soldiers were killed during a bomb attack against a Pakistani convoy in the country's volatile North Waziristan, officials said Tuesday.

According to officials, the explosion was detonated by a remote controlled device near Miranshah, North Waziristan, and struck a Pakistani military convoy, which was on its way to Datta Khel, the Express Tribune reported.

Security officials said the explosive device was placed in a drain near a market in Miranshah and detonated while the convoy monitored the area's routine curfew. In addition to the three fatal victims, 15 others were injured.

North Waziristan forms part of Pakistan's Afghan border, which the United States considers to be the most dangerous place on Earth. It 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.

The area has long been the central focus of a U.S. drone campaign. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in its annual report that the U.S. drone 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.

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