MIRAMSHAH: At least four people were killed when drones fired missiles into a compound in Darga Mandi area of North Waziristan on Wednesday.

According to some people in Miramshah, the regional headquarters, the drones fired six missiles early in the morning. “We heard six blasts when we were offering the morning prayers,” a resident told Dawn by phone.

A security official said the missiles hit a house near a seminary operated by the Haqqani group, about 2km north of Miramshah. “The missiles hit the compound and a vehicle parked inside,” he said.

“Four people were killed in the strike. We don’t know if they were fighters of the Haqqani network,” the official said.

“But they do not appear to be militant leaders. There aren’t too many of them left here,” he said, referring to a number of activists killed in drone strikes over the past years. “What is left of the Haqqani network now is its leader Siraj Haqqani and the son of another leader killed in a drone strike.”

There was no independent confirmation of the number or identities of those killed.

Some local people said the attack had claimed six lives.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2014