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'US raid kills eight' in Pakistan | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Missiles fired by a suspected US drone have killed at least eight militants in a Pakistani tribal region on the Afghan border, local officials say. | |
The missiles destroyed a house in a remote village, they said. | The missiles destroyed a house in a remote village, they said. |
The attack took place in North Waziristan which is known to be a hub of al-Qaeda and Taleban militants. | The attack took place in North Waziristan which is known to be a hub of al-Qaeda and Taleban militants. |
In recent weeks, more than 100 people - among them suspected militants and many civilians - have been killed in the tribal areas in attacks by US missiles. | |
The issue has become extremely sensitive in Pakistan where anti-American sentiment is rising. | |
Pakistan's government says such unilateral American operations undermine its own counter-insurgency strategy. | |
'Hearts and minds' | |
The latest attack took place in the early hours of Friday morning in a village near the town of Razmak in North Waziristan not far from the Afghan border. | |
Two missiles fired from a drone struck a house in the village, destroying it completely, reports said. | |
Local officials say all those killed were militants. | |
They say they cannot confirm whether any foreigners were among the dead. | |
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says this area is part of territory under the control of local Taleban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur. It was the target of a similar drone attack last Friday, in which 11 militants were reported killed. | |
The latest attack comes days after Pakistan's President Asif Zardari's appeal to US president-elect Barack Obama to review the strategy of attacking targets in Pakistan's tribal areas. | |
"It's undermining my sovereignty and it's not helping win the... hearts and minds of people," Mr Zardari told CBS News. | |
North Waziristan is known as a haven for Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters who enter Afghanistan and the US administration suspects that senior al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, are hiding there. | North Waziristan is known as a haven for Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters who enter Afghanistan and the US administration suspects that senior al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, are hiding there. |
The United States has stepped up missile attacks from drones in the region in recent weeks. | The United States has stepped up missile attacks from drones in the region in recent weeks. |
There have been nearly 20 strikes in the past three months and, while US officials say al-Qaeda leaders are being successfully targeted, local tribesmen say scores of civilians have been killed. | |
Most of the missile strikes have taken place in the Waziristan region, where no Pakistani military operation is in progress. | Most of the missile strikes have taken place in the Waziristan region, where no Pakistani military operation is in progress. |
Last week, Pakistan told the visiting head of US Central Command General David Petraeus that the missile strikes were "counter-productive" and detrimental to the so-called "war on terror". | Last week, Pakistan told the visiting head of US Central Command General David Petraeus that the missile strikes were "counter-productive" and detrimental to the so-called "war on terror". |