Press TV | In the first attack, two missiles hit Mir Ali, a town in the troubled North Waziristan, destroyed a pick-up truck and a house of a Pakistani tribesman named Amanullah Dawar, and also killed 20 suspected militants, officials said.
It was not immediately clear whether the house or the pick-up truck was blown up first, officials said.
The strike targeted Abu Akasa al-Iraqi, locally known as Abdullah, an al-Qaeda financial coordinator. Unconfirmed local reports say he was among the dead.
In the second attack a few hours later, another two missiles were fired by a US drone near Wana, the main town neighboring South Waziristan, killing 12 suspected al-Qaeda members and injuring Taliban commander Mulla Nazir.
A top security official, on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Nazir sustained injuries and was rushed to a hospital by his men. He added that in both the strikes, the majority of those killed were al-Qaeda operatives and some Taliban local commanders.
The attacks came just two days after Pakistan summoned Washington's ambassador, Anne Patterson, to the foreign ministry to deliver a strong protest over a number of similar strikes. The US has conducted 18 air strikes (including the two on Friday) in the past 10 weeks in Pakistan in which many civilians have lost their lives.
All have been blamed on US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in neighboring Afghanistan.
"It was underscored to the ambassador that the government of Pakistan strongly condemns the missile attacks which resulted in the loss of precious lives and property," AFP cited the ministry statement as saying.
Saturday, November 1. 2008
US Drone Missile Strikes Kills 32 In PakistanComments
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