DERA ISMAIL KHAN (Pakistan): A suspected US drone strike killed several Pakistani Taliban militants in North Waziristan close to the Afghanistan border, one militant commander and intelligence sources said on Thursday, in a rare strike on Pakistani soil.
If confirmed, the air strike, which happened on Wednesday, would only be the second drone attack inside the nuclear-armed nation since US President Donald Trump took office in January.
Abdullah Wazirstani, spokesman for North Waziristan Taliban, a group linked to the Pakistani Taliban, said the strike killed three civilian “labourers” and seven militants from the Pakistani Taliban, which is also known as TTP.
Malik Waheedullah, a local tribal leader, told Reuters he saw two missiles strike a mountain home which caught fire. “I drove away as fast as I could,” he said.
One Pakistani intelligence official and government source said they believed the strike to be a US drone attack.
