Eight perish as US drone hits house in NWA

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Sunday, May 06, 2012

MIRAMSHAH: Eight persons were killed and three others sustained injuries in a US drone attack in the Dre Nashtar area of the remote Shawal valley in North Waziristan on Saturday.
Official sources said the drone fired four missiles at a house in Dre Nashtar in the forested and mountainous Shawal valley near the Afghan border across Afghanistan’s Birmal area in Paktika province.
The sources said eight persons were confirmed dead and three were injured in the missile strike. The bodies of the slain people were mutilated beyond recognition.
The injured were brought to Miramshah, headquarters of North Waziristan tribal region, and hospitalised. They were stated to be in a stable condition.
There have been reports about the presence of militants in Shawal valley, which extends to both North Waziristan and South Waziristan and also Afghanistan. Some sources did not rule out the possibility that militants were the target of the drone strike in Shawal valley. This was the second US drone strike in North Waziristan in recent days.
AFP adds: Security officials said at least 10 insurgents were killed in the drone strike.
“The death toll in the US drone strike has risen to 10. The drone fired two missiles at the compound,” a security official in Peshawar told AFP.
Two security officials in Miramshah confirmed the strike and death toll and added that militants were using the compound as a training centre. They said the mud compound was completely destroyed.
APP adds from Islamabad: Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Ahmed Khan condemning the US drone strike in strongest words said such violations of international laws are only causing trust deficit between Pakistan and US. Talking to the state-run TV, the spokesman said such attacks were not only counterproductive but also a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. He said the sovereignty of the country could not be compromised.
Moazzam said drone attacks are also becoming hurdle in the war against terror as these attacks were in fact winning the sympathies of people for militants. To a question, the FO spokesman said relations with the US would be re-established according to the recommendations of the parliament. The spokesman expressed hope that issues between US and Pakistan would be settled down through mutual acceptable manners.

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