US drone attack kills 16 militants in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - A US unmanned aircraft fired five missiles at a suspected insurgent camp in Pakistan’s tribal region near the Afghan border Saturday, killing 16 people, security officials said.

Several more militants were injured in the attack in Naiz Narae village in South Waziristan tribal district.

“The locals have pulled 16 bodies and some survivors from the debris of the compound that was hit by the missiles,” an intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

He said Islamist insurgents were using the compound to conduct cross-border raids against US-led international troops in Afghanistan.

“This place belonged to Mullah Nazir’s men,” the official said.

Nazir is a tribal warlord and an important Taliban commander based in South Waziristan, where Pakistani troops have been fighting militants since mid-October.