US drone attack kills 80 in North Waziristan

The strikes took place in the Datta Khel area of the North Waziristan tribal region, the main sanctuary for Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters along the Afghan border.The roughly more than 100 suspected militants at the meeting were allied with Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a powerful Pakistani Taliban commander in the area who has focused his efforts on fighting foreign troops in Afghanistan. The insurgents were discussing plans to send new groups of fighters across the border.The most senior militant killed in the attack was Sharabat Khan, Bahadurs top commander for the Datta Khel area, who was leading the meeting. Several foreign militants were also killed in the attack.The United States began firing missiles at militant targets in Pakistan in 2004, but the pace of the attacks picked up dramatically in 2008. Last year, there were around 120 strikes, which are believed to be carried out by unmanned drone aircraft launched either from Afghanistan or from inside Pakistan.There have been around 20 so far this year. Most of the strikes this year and last have been in North Waziristan.