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US drone strike 'kills 15' in Pakistan | US drone strike 'kills 15' in Pakistan |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A strike by an unmanned US drone aircraft has killed 15 people near the Afghan border, Pakistani officials say. | |
Two missiles are reported to have hit a suspected militant compound before dawn in Hesokhel, to the east of Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan. | |
The frontier tribal region is considered a hub of activity by al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. | |
There have been eight US drone strikes in the past two weeks despite Pakistani demands for them to be stopped. | |
In the latest incident, the first missile struck the compound in Hesokhel before dawn, killing three militants, security officials said. | |
A second missile then killed 12 more militants who had arrived at the scene, they added. | |
The bodies of the suspected militants have not yet been identified, but there were unconfirmed reports that foreigners were among the dead. | |
It is the eighth and deadliest attack since 23 March, marking a considerable upsurge in the use of the controversial US drone programme, reports the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad. | |
It has come about since a deal to reopen Nato supply routes through Pakistan fell through. | |
The Pakistani government closed the routes six months ago in protest at a US air strike along the Afghan border in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed, an episode which contributed to the current crisis in relations between Washington and Islamabad, our correspondent adds. | |
Pakistan says the drone attacks fuel anti-US sentiment and claim civilian casualties along with militants. The US insists the strikes are effective. |