At least 16 people were killed and five others wounded when an American drone strike hit a suspected Haqqani militant compound in a remote tribal region of northwestern Pakistan late Tuesday, according to government and intelligence officials.
The strike was the deadliest since Pakistan’s new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, took power a month ago and demanded an end to the drone attacks. A local government official said the house was being used by the militants for the past few months.
“At least four missiles were fired from two drones at a house of local tribesmen in Sarai Darpa Khel village at 11 p.m. last night,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A local militant source said that the militants who were killed were from the Haqqani network, a militant group that is responsible for orchestrating and executing attacks against American and Afghan forces across the border in Afghanistan and is believed to be active in the region.
The attack took place in Sarai Darpa Khel, in North Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan and just southwest of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.
According to residents, after the attack the site was quickly cordoned off by Taliban insurgents to recover the bodies from the debris of the house that was attacked. . .