U.S. drone strike kills five in Pakistan: officials

October 1, 2008

2 hours, 8 minutes ago

A U.S. pilotless drone fired two missiles at a house in northwest

Pakistan killing five people, Pakistani intelligence agency officials

said Wednesday.

Frustrated by an intensifying Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, U.S.

forces have in the past month carried out seven missile strikes by

pilotless drones and a commando raid on the Pakistani side of the border.

In the latest attack, a drone fired two missiles at a house near the

town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan, at about midnight Tuesday (1800

GMT), two intelligence agency officials said.

The area is a known sanctuary for Pakistani Taliban and foreign

militants near the Afghan border.

" We have reports of five dead including foreign militants, " said one

of the officers, who declined to be identified as he is not authorized

to speak to the media.

He said he had no more information about the casualties.

The U.S. strikes into Pakistan, in particular the September 3 raid by

ground troops, have angered Pakistan, straining ties between the

allies and leading to tension along the border which Pakistani forces

have vowed to defend.

The government says the strikes are an infringement of Pakistani

sovereignty.

U.S. commanders have spoken of respect for Pakistan's sovereignty but

have suggested they will not stop cross-border strikes on militants.

(Reporting by Haji Mujtaba and Alamgir Bitani; Writing by Birsel)

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