inconstant eden: Officials: Drone strike kills 10 in Pakistan

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Officials: Drone strike kills 10 in Pakistan

By NBC's Mushtaq Yusufzai

A U.S. drone strike on suspected militants killed at least 10 people Thursday morning in northwest Pakistan, officials have told NBC News.

"The drone fired two missiles and pounded a house," a local administration official in Mir Ali, the second major town of North Waziristan said. "Four U.S. spy planes are flying over the area."

The official said the house, which was in Hasukhel village, was reportedly used by suspected foreign and Punjabi Taliban militants. Officials told Reuters that a pilotless aircraft fired the two missiles, although the news agency described the targeted structure as a "compound."

Local tribesmen said the missiles hit the village mosque where a number of people were offering their Fajr, or morning prayer. They said 10 bodies were pulled from the debris and that efforts were underway to retrieve others.

A Pakistani security official based in the area also said the drone targeted mosque in Hasukhel and killed local villagers.

Doctors at the Mir Ali hospital said six wounded had been brought in. Among those wounded, one died and four others were in critical condition.

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It is the second attack by the U.S. spy planes in two days in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, and will likely raise tensions in a standoff with Washington over NATO supply routes to Afghanistan, Reuters reported. Wednesday's drone attack killed four suspected militants.

Reuters contributed to this report.