MIRANSHAH, Pakistan: A US drone fired two missiles at a vehicle carrying militants in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least four people near the Afghan border, local security officials said.
The missiles struck the vehicle in Mubarak Shahi village, 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal district, a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
"A US drone fired two missiles at a vehicle when it was transporting militants from one place to another. At least four militants have been killed," a security official in Miranshahtold AFP.
Another security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar confirmed the attack and casualties. Both officials said the identity of those killed was not yet known.
The covert US drone strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against Islamist militants.
A report commissioned by legal lobby group Reprieve in September estimated that between 474 and 881 civilians were among 2,562 to 3,325 people killed by drones in Pakistan between June 2004 and September 2012. (AFP)
