American Drone Strike Kills 6 in Pakistani Tribal Areas

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/world/asia/pakistan-drone-strikes-waziristan.html

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan — An American drone strike killed at least six militants early Thursday in the South Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan, a senior Pakistani security official said.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said that four of the dead were foreign militants, two from Saudi Arabia, one from Yemen and one from Sudan. The drone’s missiles struck a private residence near a school in the village of Nargasi, the official said.

The drone program is operated by the C.I.A., and the strike, which is reported to be the 16th such attack on Pakistani soil this year, brought fresh protests from the Pakistani government as being a violation of its sovereignty.

“The government of Pakistan is itself taking decisive action against terrorist elements and therefore believes that such strikes are unnecessary and need to be stopped,” said Tasnim Aslam, the spokeswoman for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.

Ms. Aslam was referring to the ongoing military offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region, near where the drone strike hit on Thursday. Of the reported drone strikes this year, two have been in South Waziristan, and the remaining 14 have been in North Waziristan.