US drone attack kills seven militants in Pakistan

PESHAWAR - A US unmanned aircraft fired two missiles into Pakistan’s tribal region along the Afghan border Saturday, killing seven militants, a Pakistani security official said.

The missiles targeted a mud compound and a vehicle in Datta Khel village, located some 45 km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district.

“In both attacks seven militants have died,” said an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Four of them are foreigners and three local Taliban.”

The term “foreigner “is used to refer to the militants of Arab or Central Asian origin who are linked with Al Qaeda. The local Taliban were from the Haqqani network, a militant group led by Afghan warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani.

The Haqanni group is believed to be behind dozens of deadly attacks on NATO-led troops in Afghanistan. It was the third US drone attack over a 24-hour-period.