A US missile strike on Saturday killed at least four militants in Pakistan’s tribal belt, Pakistani security and intelligence officials said.
The missile struck a compound in Ismail Khel village, 40km west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal region.
“A US drone fired two missiles, which hit a compound used by militants as a training center,” a senior security official said.
He said that the identity of the militants was not immediately known, adding it was also not clear whether any high-value target was present in the area at the time of the strike.
An intelligence official in the area also confirmed the strike and casualties.
“The latest death toll is four now,” he said.
Residents said that the compound belonged to a local tribesman named Rasta Barkhan who had links with Taliban militants.
A local resident on condition of anonymity said that five drone aircraft made very low-altitude flights before the missile strike.
Officials say the attack took place in the stronghold of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a militant who fought with the Taliban when US-led troops invaded Afghanistan.
Bahadur is reputed to control up to 2,000 fighters whom he sends across the border but who do not attack in Pakistan.
It was the sixth missile strike by an unmanned US spy plane so far this year. Suspected US drones have increasingly targeted North Waziristan, a bastion of al-Qaeda fighters, the Taliban and the Haqqani network who attack the 113,000 US and NATO troops fighting in neighboring Afghanistan.
The US is increasing pressure on Pakistan to tackle militants who use its soil to launch attacks in Afghanistan and US officials have said that the highly secretive drone program has eliminated some top fighters.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is constructing a new counter-stealth radar system on a disputed reef in the South China Sea that would significantly expand its surveillance capabilities in the region, satellite imagery suggests. Analysis by London-based think tank Chatham House suggests China is upgrading its outpost on Triton Island (Jhongjian Island, 中建島) on the southwest corner of the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), building what might be a launching point for an anti-ship missile battery and sophisticated radar system. “By constraining the US ability to operate stealth aircraft, and threaten stealth aircraft, these capabilities in the South China Sea send
HAVANA: Repeated blackouts have left residents of the Cuban capital concerned about food, water supply and the nation’s future, but so far, there have been few protests Maria Elena Cardenas, 76, lives in a municipal shelter on Amargura Street in Havana’s colonial old town. The building has an elegant past, but for the last few days Maria has been cooking with sticks she had found on the street. “You know, we Cubans manage the best we can,” she said. She lives in the shelter because her home collapsed, a regular occurrence in the poorest, oldest parts of the beautiful city. Cuba’s government has spent the last days attempting to get the island’s national grid functioning after repeated island-wide blackouts. Without power, sleep becomes difficult in the heat, food
Botswana is this week holding a presidential election energized by a campaign by one previous head-of-state to unseat his handpicked successor whose first term has seen rising discontent amid a downturn in the diamond-dependent economy. The charismatic Ian Khama dramatically returned from self-exile six weeks ago determined to undo what he has called a “mistake” in handing over in 2018 to Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who seeks re-election tomorrow. While he cannot run as president again having served two terms, Khama has worked his influence and standing to support the opposition in the southern African country of 2.6 million people. “The return of
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected a plan for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Kyiv due to Guterres’ attendance at this week’s BRICS summit in Russia, a Ukrainian official said on Friday. Kyiv was enraged by Guterres’ appearance at the event in the city of Kazan on Thursday and his handshake with its host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres, who called for a “just peace” in Ukraine at the BRICS event and has repeatedly condemned the invasion, discussed a visit to Ukraine with Zelenskiy when they met in New York
RSS