Third US drone attack in as many days kills 15 militants | WPN World People News

At least 15 suspected militants were killed Monday in the third US drone strike in as many days in Pakistan, officials said.

The drone attack has invited strong condemnation from Pakistani authorities following a jump in such attacks that have killed 27 people since Saturday. A foreign ministry spokesperson called the attack "illegal", stating that they violated Pakistan's sovereignty.

According to intelligence officials, the dawn strike like many similar operations targeted militant hideouts in North Waziristan a known hotbed of Taliban insurgency and haven for militants.

The officials said the three US unmanned drone strikes were targeted at militant leaders known to send fighters over the border into Afghanistan.

NATO says Afghan and coalition troops conducted more than 100 special operations in May, capturing and killing dozens of high-level Al Qaida, Taliban and other insurgent leaders.

Mohammad Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the Afghanistan's Helmand provincial governor, said a senior Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Salam Abid, and a number of his fighters were killed by Afghan national army special units around three days ago.

Abid had led Taliban operations in northern Helmand, and was the brother of Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir, the Taliban's second-in-command.

The latest drone attacks are likely to further sour diplomatic relations between Washington and Islamabad, which has been under strain since the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in a US strike in November last year. The strike led Pakistan to shut down supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Source: The Asia News.Net