Suspected US drone strike kills six in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - A US missile strike Saturday killed six suspected militants in Pakistan’s restive tribal region, security officials said.

The attack took place in the Mandi Khel area of the North Waziristan tribal district along the Afghan boarder, a haven for Taliban and Al Qaeda rebels.

A Pakistani intelligence official said on condition of anonymity that a pilotless drone aircraft fired four missiles into a vehicle, destroying it. “All six people in the car died.”

The airstrike was the first of 2011 and the second in the last 24-hours. Five alleged Taliban insurgents died Friday afternoon when two missiles hit their vehicle in the same district.

The US has increased drone attacks in North Waziristan as Pakistan is hesitant to launch a military operation against the militants. The district was the scene of most of the over 100 drone attacks across the tribal region in 2010.

More than 600 people died in the air-raids. Intelligence officials say most of them were suspected militants, but verification of the claims is difficult since the area remains almost inaccessible for journalists and aid workers.