Pakistan: Suspected US drone strike kills four militants

A suspected US drone fired missiles and killed at least four people in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, Pakistani intelligence officials said, the Associated Press reported.

The alleged attack happened in Degan village in the North Waziristan tribal area, near the Afghan border, CNN reported. It is believed the drone fired two missiles, firing at a vehicle in the first attack, killing four alleged militants, the AP reported. In the second attack, a house was hit, but no one was reported dead.

It is believed the militants were from Turkmenistan and witness said the vehicle was going from Degan to Datta Khel in North Waziristan, the BBC reported.

Read more at GlobalPost: Drone Wars: the rationale

The US briefly halted drone strikes near the region in November, after a NATO attack accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, further straining ties between the US and Pakistan, the BBC reported. The attacks outraged Pakistan, especially after President Barack Obama didn’t apologize for the incident. However, drone attacks appear to have resumed in early January.

Read more at GlobalPost: US drone strike kills top commander in Pakistan

US drone strikes were halted until Jan. 10, when missiles hit a house in North Waziristan, which killed Al Qaeda operations planner, Aslam Awan, US officials said, the AP reported. US officials have said the strikes are legal and an effective tactic when fighting extremists, CNN reported.

This is the third attack since the program started up again. "One strike would have been, 'All right, it's a target of opportunity, we have to take it,'" Bill Roggio, senior fellow with the Center for Defense of Democracies said, CNN reported. "Two might be the same thing. My experience with these things is that three means the program is back on."

Read more at GlobalPost: Pakistan: Suspected US drone strike kills 4 in North Waziristan