US drone attack kills 15 militants in Pakistan

A drone rammed missiles on a compound in a restive North Waziristan tribal region killing at least 15 terrorists,mostly foreign fighters.

In stepped-up US attacks on militant hideouts in Pakistan,a drone rammed missiles on a compound in a restive North Waziristan tribal region on Sunday killing at least 15 terrorists,mostly foreign fighters.

In the tenth such attack in the region this month,the US drone fired two missiles on a militant compound during the strike in Shaktoi region that straddles North and South Waziristan,officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels.

At least 15 bodies were pulled out of the rubble of the compound,which was destroyed. Most of the dead were believed to be foreign fighters.

The officials said the death toll could rise as the rubble of the compound was still being cleared. This was the tenth drone strike in Waziristan this year.

Shaktoi and its surrounding areas have been targeted by US spy planes several times over the past few days.

Two drone attacks on Friday killed 11 militants while another strike on Thursday killed 16 rebels.

Thursdays drone attack also triggered widespread speculation that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud was among the dead.

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Mehsud issued an audio message yesterday in which he said he was alive and well and warned that the Taliban would retaliate against further drone attacks.

The US stepped up drone attacks in North Waziristan after a suicide bomber linked to the Pakistani Taliban killed seven CIA operatives at a forward base in neighbouring Khost province of Afghanistan.

The Taliban recently released a video in which the bomber responsible for the Khost attack was shown with Hakimullah Mehsud.

The bomber said the attack was carried out to avenge the death of slain Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud,who was killed in a drone attack in August last year.