US drones target Pak madrassa,kill 18 militants

This was the second strike in South Waziristan killing of Ilyas Kashmiri and eight other militants on Friday.

Days after killing dreaded Pakistani terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri,US drones carried out three attacks,hours apart,in South Waziristan tribal region today,killing 18 suspected militants,including seven foreign fighters,security officials said.

The first attack at 2 am targeted a house near Wana,one of the main towns of South Waziristan Agency. The drone fired two missiles at the house,killing three persons and injuring two more,officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels.

A drone fired two missiles at a madrassa or seminary near Wana at 6 am,killing four persons and wounding three others.

Seven more bodies were pulled out of the rubble of the house and madrassa later,officials said.

Four more suspected militants were killed in the third attack in Shawal area,over 40 km from Wana,at 11.15 am.

The drone targeted a vehicle in a region considered a stronghold of Taliban commander Mullah Nazir who has a peace pact with the government.

Reports said that besides the foreign fighters,several Punjabi Taliban were killed in the attacks.

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The first two strikes targeted militants aligned with senior Taliban commander Malang,who belongs to the Mullah Nazir group.

Local residents said several drones continued to hover over the region after the attacks.

On Friday night,a US drone strike in South Waziristan reportedly killed al Qaeda-linked terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri and eight other militants.

Kashmiri was wanted by the US,India and Pakistan for several terror attacks.

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Kashmiri was linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks and last month8217;s brazen attack on a naval airbase in Karachi that killed 10 security personnel.

According to an estimate,there have been more than 35 drone strikes in Pakistan8217;s tribal belt this year,which have taken of toll of 250,most of them suspected militants.

The US has stepped up strikes in Waziristan after the US and Pakistan created a joint intelligence mechanism to track key terrorists in the wake of a visit to Islamabad by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton late last month.

Clinton had asked Pakistan to take 8220;decisive steps8221; against the militants.

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The US also handed over a list of five top terrorists that it wanted killed or captured,including Kashmiri,Al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar.