Suspected US drone strike kills 11 in South Waziristan

ISLAMABAD: A suspected US drone attack killed 11 people in the South Waziristan tribal region, intelligence officials said on Friday.

The two officials say the attack struck a suspected training facility of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mehsud early Friday in the villages of Montoi in South Waziristan. A suspected militant hide-out in Kokat Khel was also hit.

‘The missiles hit an office of Mufti Noor Wali who was once in charge of training militants for suicide attacks,’ an intelligence official said.

He had no word on casualties but a resident of the region said 11 militants had been killed.

The attack came as Pakistani troops are closing in on Mehsud’s strongholds and have carried out several air strikes by jet fighters in recent weeks to soften up targets before an expected full-scale offensive.

The attack came a day after thousands of US Marines launched an offensive against the Afghan Taliban in the southern Afghan province of Helmand.

South Waziristan is part of the lawless tribal belt along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan where top Taliban and al-Qaida leaders are believed to be hiding.

The officials said they received their information from agents on the ground.

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