U.S. drone strike kills 25 in Pakistan's North Waziristan

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110422/wl_nm/us_pakistan_drone

U.S. drone strike kills 25 in Pakistan's North Waziristan

54 mins ago

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Four missiles fired by two suspected U.S.

pilotless aircraft hit a house in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan

on the Afghan border on Friday, killing 25 militants, Pakistani intelligence

officials said.

The drone strike happened in Mir Ali, a town about 35 kilometers (20 miles) east

of the region's main town of Miranshah.

An intelligence official in the region, who requested not to be identified, told

Reuters that the house was being used as a militant hideout.

" They (the militants) have surrounded the area where the attack happened and are

not allowing anybody to go there, " he said, adding 25 bodies had been recovered

from the rubble and three women were among those killed.

Another official said some foreign militants were among the dead, but that their

numbers and nationalities could not confirmed.

The strike came two days after a visit to Islamabad by Admiral Mike Mullen, the

top U.S. military official, in which he expressed concern over continuing links

between Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the ISI, and militants attacking

U.S.-led forces across the border in Afghanistan.

North Waziristan is a known sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants near

the Afghan border.

The United States has been using drone attacks to target al Qaeda-linked

militants over the past few years in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, a source

of concern for the Pakistan government, which says civilian casualties stoke

public anger and bolster support for militancy.

(Reporting by Haji Mujtaba; Writing by Kamran Haider; Editing by Conway

and )

(For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see:

http://www.reuters.com/places/pakistan.