The death toll of U.S. drone strike launched in
Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Kurram Agency on Monday morning has
risen to 11,
reported local Urdu TV channel Geo.
Nine out of the 11 suspected militants killed in the strike were
foreigners, said the report, adding that one militant commander was
also killed in the strike.
According to the report, the U.S. drones fired four missiles at
about 10:30 a.m. local time at two suspected targets in the Khardand
area of Kurram Agency, which is situated very close to the Afghan
border.
The two targets each hit by two missiles of U.S. drones included one
vehicle suspected of carrying militants and one militants' hideout in
the mountainous areas of the afore-said agency.
This is the first U.S. drone strike ever reported in the Kurram
Agency since this year. Prior to this, all the other strikes were
carried out in North and South Waziristan, two strongholds of militants
hiding along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.
Monday's U.S. drone strike is the 37th of its kind (counted on daily
basis) in Pakistan in 2011. To date, a total of 315 people have
reportedly been killed in such strikes since this year.
While most of the people targeted by U.S. drones in Pakistan's
northwest tribal areas are believed to be militants who often launch
attacks on the U.S.-led NATO troop in Afghanistan across the border,
U.S. drones do often mistakenly kill innocent civilians, leading to
repeated protests by the local people and the Pakistani government as
well. Xinhua
