Thaindian News

PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) — U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan’s restive tribal region of South Waziristan killed at least six suspected militants, officials said Wednesday.

U.S. drones in Pakistan, which are operated by the CIA, targeted a vehicle in Angoor Adda, which is located in South Waziristan near Pakistan’s Afghan border, and fired four missile strikes against it. As a result, Pakistani military officials said six militants were killed, the Express Tribune reported.

The region is not far from North Waziristan where the U.S. drone campaign is most active and is aimed at disrupting al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The air strike marks the U.S.’ first drone strike in the area since March 17, when more than 40 civilians were killed in North Waziristan when U.S. missiles hit a residential area where local elders were meeting. Controversy then broke out once again following the air strikes and increased tension within the Pakistan-U.S. alliance.

On Monday, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha met with CIA Director Leon Panetta in the U.S., reportedly seeking an end to the drone strikes.

Pakistan’s Afghan border, which the United States considers to be the most dangerous place on Earth, is known to be a stronghold of the Taliban’s Haqqani Network, considered one of the top terrorist organizations and threats to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Controversy has surrounded the drone strikes as local residents and officials have blamed them for killing innocent civilians and motivating young men to join the Taliban. In addition, the Pakistani government does not support the strikes.