US drone strikes in Waziristan, Pakistan border with Afghanistan, kill
A US air raid has killed 18 suspected fighters near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, Pakistani officials have said.
Fourteen other people were also reportedly injured after drone-fired missiles hit three compounds used by the fighters in North Waziristan on Friday, a day after Islamabad summoned a US diplomat to protest a recent series of strikes that have caused much collateral damage and civilian casualties.
The raid was the fourth attack in the span of a week, as well as the most deadly.
Officials, on condition of anonymity, said each of the three compounds, which are often used hideouts for fighters when they cross into Afghanistan, was hit by two missiles.
The drone campaign, which Washington sees as vital to combating armed groups, including al-Qaeda, has been a cause of friction between the two countries, as Pakistan sees the strikes as an infringement on its sovereignty.
“A senior US diplomat was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and informed that the drone strikes were unlawful, against international law and a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. It was emphatically stated that such attacks were unacceptable,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement. The diplomat was not identified.
Last week, five allies of a powerful warlord, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, whose forces often strike US troops in Afghanistan, died when a US drone struck their hideout in North Waziristan.
Pakistan has seen growing protests over drone strikes that allegedly result in many civilian deaths
