15 People Die In US Drone Strike In NW Pakistan

Islamabad, June 5, IRNA – An American unmanned aircraft fired missiles into Pakistan’s north Waziristan tribal region early Monday and killed 15 people, local tribesmen said. It was the second strike in Waziristan region in two days. Five people were killed in a drone strike in neighboring South Waziristan on Saturday. Some local media had put the death toll at 10 in the Sunday's strike. A tribesmen told IRNA on phone from Miranshah that an unmanned US aircraft fired four missiles on a house and a vehicle in Mir Ali, a main town in the region, Monday morning, killing 12 people. Three people later died in hospital, he said. State television also reported 15 deaths. The report said that several other people were injured. Tribesmen said that the pre-dawn strike created panic among the people. Locals later rushed to the site and shifted injured to a local hospital. There was no report about the identity of those killed. The US has intensified drone strikes in recent days in Pakistan's tribal area, ignoring protests by Pakistani government and the people. The Sunday strike was 8 in two weeks in Waziristan tribal region. Nearly 150 people have been killed in such strikes in 2012. Pakistan says US drone strikes on its soil are a serious violation of its sovereignty and a contravention of the international law, but the United States insists claims that it is an effective way to fight against the militants. Analysts said that the US has stepped up drone strikes in recent days in the wake of failure of the two countries to make progress in talks for the reopening of supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan had closed the line in November to protest against the killing of 24 soldiers in an American airstrike in Mohmand tribal region. The US has refused to tender apology over the killing of Pakistani soldiers./end