Drone strike kills at least 9 alleged militants in pakistan

A suspected U.S. drone struck early Wednesday in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, killing at least nine alleged militants, Pakistani officials said. The Express Tribune, quoting the officials, said the missiles fired by the drone targeted a house in the region's Spalga area, near Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan. "At least nine militants were killed," one official said, adding the structure was destroyed. Local sources told the Tribune those killed were "not residents" of the area. The newspaper quoted Pakistani intelligence officials as saying the men killed might have been from Pakistan's Punjab province, but there was no independent confirmation about their identities. U.S. officials have said the region is a sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida militants for launching attacks on NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan. The report said it was the fifth drone strike this year. The United States does not comment on such operations. Drone strikes have resumed since a lull following a NATO airstrike in November in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were inadvertently killed.