US drone strike in North Waziristan leaves six 'militants' dead
PESHAWAR: Six suspected militants were reportedly killed while two others sustained injuries in a United States drone strike in Shawal Tehsil of North Waziristan on Monday, DawnNews reported.
Two missiles were fired on a ‘militant hideout’ in Zoye Narye Area of restive North Waziristan’s Shawal Tehsil, the report added.
The latest drone strike comes just two days after a strike on Saturday killed five suspected militants and injured two others in North Waziristan.
Pakistan had strongly condemned the May 16 US drone strike, and had called for cessation of such strikes.
"Such strikes are a clear violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah had said on Monday.
The spokesman said these drone attacks generate distrust among the local populace at a time when Operation Zarb-i-Azb is moving ahead decisively and the focus of the government is shifting towards rehabilitation of the civilian population.
Dattakhel and Shawal are two major areas where the military is concentrating on air power to soften up regions infested by local and foreign militants.
Army launched Zarb-i-Azb, a grand operation in the North Waziristan tribal region, following a Taliban-claimed attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi last year.
Drone attacks are widely unpopular across Pakistan and according to survey conducted in June last year, 66 per cent of the country's citizens oppose these strikes.