US drone attack in Pakistan, 41 killed

Peshawar: At least 41 people were killed when US drones targeted a compound in the restive North Waziristan tribal region of northwest Pakistan on Thursday, though there were conflicting accounts about the identity of those who died.

Security officials said those killed in the attack at Datta Khel located 25 km west of Miranshah, one of the main towns in North Waziristan Agency were suspected militants linked to the network of Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur.

Local residents said the CIA-operated spy planes four to six missiles at a gathering of members of the Madda Khel tribe.

The tribesmen were participating in a jirga or council to resolve a dispute over the ownership of minerals in the mountains of North Waziristan, the residents told journalists.

At least 15 others were injured in the attack, one of the deadliest carried out by US drones in Pakistan's tribal belt. A tribal elder said six elders and some children were among the dead. Local residents said the drones continued hovering over the area after the attack.

Tribesmen said the jirga had been organised to resolve differences over the payment made by a man for the sale of chromite mine by the Madda Khel tribe.

Kamran Khan, who represents the region in parliament, condemned the drone strike and said that most of the dead were innocent people.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar, who is responsible for the administration of the tribal areas, too strongly condemned the US drone strike.

"The US drones targeted a tribal council and killed tribesmen and members of the local government militia force," Kausar said in a statement.

"The government and the people will not tolerate such attacks in future," Kausar said.

The US drone strikes violate Pakistan's sovereignty and integrity and government policy, he added. Kausar called for compensation to be paid to the

families of victims.

This was the third attack in North Waziristan Agency in four days and the 23rd missile strike this year.

The Datta Khel region has frequently been targeted by spy planes over the past two years.