US drone strike kills 3 in NW Pakistan

From Rezaul H Laskar Islamabad, Nov 3 (PTI) A US drone targeted a house in the restive North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan today, killing at least three suspected militants, including two members of the Haqqani network. The CIA-operated spy plane fired two missiles at the house in Dande Darpakhel area along the border with Afghanistan, TV news channels quoted officials as saying. The house was destroyed in the attack. Two members of the Haqqani network were among the dead, the reports said. The strike occurred a short distance from a seminary run by the Haqqanis near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency. This was the fifth drone strike in Waziristan in a week. On Monday, a drone killed at least four persons in North Waziristan. On Sunday, drones fired six missiles at a house in the same region and killed at least six persons. Eleven people, including a top Taliban commander, were killed in two strikes in South and North Waziristan on Thursday. The US has stepped up pressure on Pakistan to crack down on the Haqqani network, which has been blamed for a string of deadly attacks on American and allied troops in Afghanistan. The US drones routinely carry out missile strikes in Waziristan, which American officials have described as a safe haven for Taliban and Al Qaeda elements. (MORE)