US drone attack kills civilians

Saturday - “US predators fired a barrage of missiles in North Waziristan Agency, close to the Afghan border on Friday, killing at least 25 people including civilians.

Sources said five missiles hit a house in Spinwam village of North Waziristan, adding that the attack was the worst as five children and three women were believed to be among the dead.

Local people said the death toll might rise as some people were still trapped under the debris of the ruined compound.

The residents of the area rejected the US claim that the missiles targeted the militants. They said all those killed in the drone attacks were innocent people.

The drone strikes have long been a source of tension between the US and Pakistan.

The Pakistani Army and political leadership have always condemned the missile attacks.

They want America to limit the strikes and provide them prior information regarding the attack. But several US officials in Islamabad and Washington have said that the CIA’s drone campaign would continue regardless of Pakistan’s objections.

Pakistan is also demanding the US to hand over the drone technology so that it could target the militant hideouts in the tribal areas. It bears mentioning here that on March 17, US predator fired several missiles on a tribal Jirga in which 45 innocent people were killed and several others injured. The Friday attack was the 20th drone strike in the ongoing year of 2011.

Courtesy: The Nation