Monday, January 18, 2010

According to local officials, a United States drone attack in Pakistan’s South Waziristan province has killed at least fifteen people, although some reports put the death toll as high as twenty. The incident occurred in the Shaktoi region of the province.

“Now the death toll is 15. It could rise further. People are still busy removing rubble,” said a senior security official to the Reuters news agency. He commented that most of the dead were foreign fighters.

“The drones are apparently tracking and targeting Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, whose presence is frequently reported in the area,” said another official.

The United States has increased attacks using drones since a suicide bomber killed seven US intelligence agents in eastern Afghanistan in late December of last year.