Drone strike in Pakistan kills 2 suspected militants
Pakistani tribesmen hold banners as they march during a protest rally against US drone attacks, in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan district on January 21, 2011. Hundreds of Pakistani tribesmen paraded in the streets to demand an end to US drone attacks which they said were killing innocent people in the tribal areas, witnesses said. In 2010 the campaign doubled missile attacks in the tribal area with around 100 drone strikes killing more than 650 people, according to an AFP tally.
At least two suspected militants were killed on Saturday when two missiles, fired by what was likely a US drone, struck a motorbike carrying the unidentified men in Mosaki village.
“Both of the militants on the motorbike were killed on the spot,” a Pakistani intelligence official told The New York Times. “The drone fired two missiles that also damaged a nearby house, but no casualty has so far been reported inside it.”
Earlier this month another drone strike in North Waziristan killed about 17 people. The United States does not often comment on specific drone operations, which are run by the CIA.
"The two men, probably Arab nationals, were passing through Mosaki village when the drone fired two missiles and hit them," a local Pakistani official told Reuters.
US drone strikes in Pakistan began in 2004, and since then have drawn criticism from US officials in terms of oversight, while many in Pakistan claim the attacks have killed innocent civilians.
In a separate attack on Saturday, the Pakistan Air Force killed seven suspected insurgents between the Orakzai and Khyber tribal areas, according to one senior official.