U.S. drone leaves 4 dead in Pakistan

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. carried out its first drone strike into Pakistan since errant November airstrikes by U.S. forces killed two dozen Pakistani troops along the Afghan border. The latest missile attack killed four militants, three of them Arabs, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.

The drone strike took place Tuesday, January 11, near Miran Shah in North Waziristan, an al Qaeda and Taliban stronghold that has been pounded by the U.S. since the drone program began in earnest in 2009. The intelligence officials didn’t give their names because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Relations with Pakistan plummeted after the November 26 airstrikes prompted Islamabad to shut down vital supply routes into Afghanistan and force the U.S. to vacate Shamsi Air Base in southwestern Baluchistan province. The U.S. used the base to service drones that targeted militants in the tribal regions close to Afghanistan.

Human rights activists in Pakistan and abroad have reported significant civilian casualties as a result of the strikes. The U.S. says the strikes are accurate, but doesn’t publicly investigate the allegations, AP reported.