Wednesday, August 10, 2011 – According to local authorities, at least 21 suspected militants were killed in a US drone attack near Miranshah in the North Waziristan Agency on Wednesday.
Officials further added, US drone fired two missiles, destroying a vehicle and a compound in North Waziristan, the headquarters of the Haqqani leadership and the most infamous militant bastion in the semi-autonomous tribal belt.
A Pakistani security officials quoted by AFP said, “More dead bodies have been dug out of the debris. Twenty-one militants from the Haqqani group were killed and three were injured.”
According to reports, all of the victims were fighters of the Haqqani network, which is considered the most dangerous enemy of US troops in eastern Afghanistan.
The Haqqani Network was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani and is run by his son, Sirajuddin, both designated “global terrorists” by Washington.
The network has been blamed for some of the deadliest anti-US attacks in Afghanistan, including a suicide attack at a US base in the eastern province of Khost in 2009 that killed seven CIA operatives.
According to reports, more than 21 US drone strikes have been reported in Pakistan since May 2, when US SEALS killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.
Predator attacks are not officially confirmed by the United States, but the US military and the CIA operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the armed, unmanned aircraft in the region.
