MIRAMSHAH A US drone fired two missiles into a militant compound in Pakistans tribal area, a hotbed of Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, killing at least 10 militants, local security officials said.
The strike targeted Inzarkas village, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Miramshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal district near the border with Afghanistan.
“The missiles struck a militant compound in the village, killing at least 10 rebels,” a senior Pakistani security official in the area told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Another security official confirmed the strike and casualties but said the nationalities of those killed in the attack were not yet known.
“The compound became suspicious as it was being used by foreigners,” he said. “It was, however, not immediately known if any high-value target was present in the area at the time of attack.”
Pakistani officials use the term “foreigners” for Al-Qaeda linked militants operating in the tribal regions.
Waziristan was plunged back into the international spotlight following the arrest of Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American charged with international terrorism in the attempted car bombing of New Yorks Times Square.
According to the US authorities, Shahzad admitted to receiving bomb-making training in Waziristan, in an area Washington describes as the global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous region in the world.
US forces have been waging a covert drone war on the northwestern tribal belt, where militants have carved out havens in mountainous areas outside direct government control.
More than 900 people have been killed in over 100 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008.
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