8 killed in US drone attack in Pak

Missiles fired by a US drone on Tuesday flattened a house in remote Pakistani tribal areas bordering Afghanistan killing eight people, all militants, official said.

Two missiles fired by the drone hit a compound in Sara Khwara in South Waziristan tribal region, in the second such drone attack in less than two days.

The House, according to officials, was being used by militants to stay before crossing the border or coming back from Afghanistan.

"Foreigners and local Taliban fighters were present in the compound when it was hit by the missiles," officials said.TV channels reported the area where the strike occurred is considered a stronghold of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Eight bodies were pulled out of the debris of the house that was targeted and reports said the toll could rise as more persons could be buried under the rubble. Taliban fighters surrounded the site of the attack and prevented locals from approaching it. Pakistan's tribal belt has witnessed at least 16 attacks by US drones this year, with five missile strikes reported last month. At least five persons were killed and over 10 others injured in a missile strike in South Waziristan Agency on Saturday.

Islamabad has angrily opposed the missile strikes, describing them as a violation of its sovereignty and counter-productive for the war on terror. President Asif Ali Zardari, who raised the issue during his current visit to the US for a trilateral summit with the American and Afghan Presidents, has said Pakistan should be provided drones so that it can conduct such strikes on its own.

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