Suspected US missile attacks kill 7 in NW Pakistan (19 attacks this month, most ever)
Suspected U.S. drone aircraft carried out two missile strikes against a house and a vehicle near the Afghan border in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing seven alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The U.S. is now suspected of conducting 19 such attacks this month - the most intense barrage since the strikes began in 2004. Most have targeted Datta Khel, part of the North Waziristan tribal area that is dominated by militants who regularly stage attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan.
In the first strike Sunday, a drone fired three missiles at a house in Lwara Mandi village in Datta Khel, killing three suspected militants, said the intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Minutes later, a drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in the same area, killing four suspected militants, the officials said.
The exact identities of the seven people killed in the attacks were not known, but most of this month’s strikes have targeted forces led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a commander who was once supported by Pakistan and the U.S. during the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan.