New US drone strike kills three in NW Pakistan

A fresh US drone strike has claimed the lives of at least three people in Pakistan’s northwestern restive tribal region near the Afghan border, local intelligence officials say.

The officials told the Associated Press that two missiles were fired from a US drone on Monday night over the Shawal Village in the militancy-riddled North Waziristan region.

There were no details about the identity of those killed in the drone strike.

The Pakistani tribal region is off-limits to journalists, making it impossible to independently verify the identity of those killed.

The US regularly uses drones for airstrikes and spying missions in Afghanistan, as well as in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border, among other places.

Washington claims that the targets of the drone attacks are militants, but local officials and witnesses maintain that civilians have been the main victims of the attacks over the past few years.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the latest strike, saying it violated the country’s territorial sovereignty and international law.

“These events also generate distrust among the local populace. We reiterate our call for cessation of such strikes,” the Pakistani ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The aerial attacks, initiated by former US President George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Barack Obama. President Obama recently defended the use of the controversial drone attacks as “self-defense.”

The United Nations, however, says the US drone attacks are “targeted killings” that flout international law.

The UN and several human rights organizations have identified the US as the world’s number one user of “targeted killings,” largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

JR/KA/HJL

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