Updated on
Summary US carried out its first drone strike into Pakistan since Salala out posts strike by NATO.
The drone attack targeted a compound in Pakistans tribal area near the Afghan border and killed four people.Two missiles hit a compound on the outskirts of Miranshah, in the North Waziristan region, killing four, one official confirmed.The attack triggered a fire in the building and flames could be seen from the roof of houses in Miranshah, five kilometres away, residents reported.The drone attack and the casualties were confirmed by two other security officials.The Nov. 25 airstrikes by US forces killed two dozen Pakistani troops at two posts along the mountainous border.A US official says the strike probably was from a CIA drone, occurred Tuesday afternoon.US officials say there had been no promise by the US government that such drone operations would be avoided, but the lull was part of a broad effort to tamp down tensions with Pakistan.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the drone operations are classified.Relations with Pakistan plummeted after the late-November airstrikes prompted Islamabad to shut down vital supply routes into Afghanistan and force the US to vacate Shamsi Air Base in southwestern Baluchistan province.The US allegedly used the base to service drones that targeted al-Qaida and Taliban militants in the tribal region. –Agencies
