ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suspected U.S. drone strike killed at least four people Wednesday morning in the tribal North Waziristan region, according to local officials reporting the first targeted strike on Pakistani soil in six weeks.
The attack, covered extensively by Pakistani news outlets, comes at a sensitive time as Pakistan's newly elected government prepares to take office amid growing debate both here and in the United States about the CIA-operated drone program.
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U.S. officials declined to comment, but Pakistani intelligence and tribal officials said a U.S. drone fired two missiles into a house in Miranshah, killing four people and wounding four others inside.
The area where the strike took place is a hotbed for al-Qaeda and insurgents who cross the border to fight in Afghanistan. But officials were still assessing who was killed in the attack.
"Our field informers are working on gathering information to know whether local or foreign militants or civilians," said one intelligence official, who asked not to be identified so he could speak freely about the matter.
Another regional official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said its "strongly believed" that the attack killed "foreign militants." Reuters reported a total of seven people were killed in the strike.
The attack represents the first publically known drone strike since April 17, before the country's historic May 11 election that included considerable debate about U.S. drone strikes and Pakistan's sovereignty.
The newly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who will take office next week , said he considers drone strikes to be a serious issue that he plans to take up with the Obama administration.
Wednesday's attack also comes on the same day that the members of Pakistan's regional Northwest Provincial Assembly were taking the oath of office. In the May election, the party of former cricket star Imran Khan won a majority of the seats in that body. Khan and his party campaigned extensively against U.S. drones, suggesting Pakistan's military should shoot them down because they can result in civilian casualties.
In a major policy address last week, President Obama defended the use of drones, but pledged the U.S. would limit strikes to targets who pose an "imminent threat." Obama also pledged the U.S. would redouble efforts to avoid civilian casualties
Pakistan's government had no immediate reaction to Wednesday's attack. But Muhammad Amir Rana, a noted Pakistani security analyst, said the strike appears consistent with revised U.S. policy.
"We will see such limited drone strikes happening in future but with much more accountability and care being taken that only terrorists are taken out," he said.
So far this year, Pakistani officials report 77 fatalities from 11 drone strikes, a decline over preceding years.
Special Correspondent Haq Nawaz Khan and Shaiq Hussain and contributed to this report.
29 May, 2013
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Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEFgqsYsH40a5M4Q56ZjWMOPzGn7Q&url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistan-officials-us-drone-kills-4-militants-near-afghan-border-first-strike-after-election/2013/05/29/24ef335a-c834-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html
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