5 killed in US drone strike in Pakistan

At least five people have been killed in a fresh US drone strike in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal regions, Pakistani officials say.

The drone targeted a house owned by a local tribesman, Mohammad Khalid, in Newey Adda, a village in North Waziristan tribal district, the officials said.

“A US drone fired two missiles. The target was a house used by militants as a compound. Five militants have been killed,” a senior security official told AFP on Sunday.

The US drones have targeted Pakistan’s tribal areas at least six times over the past week. A total of 33 people have been reportedly killed during the airstrikes.

The United States claims its drone attacks target militants. However, hundreds of civilians have lost their lives in such attacks since 2007.

The issue of civilian casualties has strained relations between Islamabad and Washington, as statistics show that the US missile strikes have killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians over the past two years in Pakistan.