Drone Kills 8 in Pakistan
Pakistani officials say a suspected U.S. drone attack has killed at least eight people in the country's northwest.
Pakistani officials say a suspected U.S. drone attack has killed at least eight people, including foreign militants, in the country's northwest.
The officials say two missiles were fired at a compound being used by suspected Taliban militants in Mir Ali village, in North Waziristan, a region on the Afghanistan-border that is a militant stronghold.
U.S. military officials never confirm such attacks, but its armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employees in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.
The head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, was in Pakistan Friday for talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The prime minister's office said Mr. Gilani stressed that U.S. policy in Afghanistan take into account Pakistan's concerns.
The statement also said the two men agreed to "operational functioning" among their two militaries and intelligence agencies to fight terrorism.
Meanwhile, Pakistani officials say a remote-controlled bomb ripped through a police vehicle in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing two police officers instantly, while a third died later of his injuries.
That bombing on Friday came less than 24 hours after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a court building in Peshawar, killing at least 19 people and wounding more than 36 others.
Militant attacks have surged in the northwest since Pakistan launched a major anti-Taliban offensive in the lawless tribal region of South Waziristan in mid-October.
Military officials say around 500 militants and 70 soldiers have been killed since the offensive began.
The reports cannot be independently verified because journalists and rights groups are barred from the battlefield.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
Pakistani officials said that a suspected US drone attack has killed at least eight people today, including foreign militants, in the country's northwest.

The officials said that two missiles were fired at a compound being used by suspected Taliban militants in Mir Ali village, in North Waziristan, a region on the Afghanistan-border that is said to be a militant stronghold.


"At least eight people were killed in the drone attack. A compound used by militants was targeted," said an unnamed official to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

Police official Mohammad Haroon said to the Reuters news agency that "it was a remote-controlled bomb. Two policemen died on the spot, while a third has succumbed to his injuries a short while ago."

US military officials generally do not confirm attacks such as these, but its armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency employees in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.

At least 65 similar drone strikes have killed about 625 people in Pakistan since August of last year, according to AFP.