U.S. drone strike kills 21 in northwest Pakistan (Reuters)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – A U.S. drone fired two missiles into Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border on Wednesday, killing at least 21 suspected militants, including foreigners, local officials said, in one of the biggest attacks in weeks.

The drone targeted a house 3 km (2 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town of the region, known to be a hotbed of Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

"The dead included local Taliban as well as some Arabs and Uzbek nationals," one intelligence official in North Waziristan said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately known if any high-profile militants were among the dead. Militants often dispute official account of such strikes.

Initial reports said five militants were killed in the attack but officials said the toll had gone up to 21 after more bodies were found from the rubble of the house.

Drone strikes have been a major source of friction between the United States and Pakistan, with ties at their worst since U.S. Special Forces killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in a Pakistani garrison town in May.

While Pakistan publicly opposes the strikes, it has privately allowed them and cooperated with the United States determining targets.

But since the May commando raid, which Pakistan considers a grievous breach of sovereignty, the powerful head of the army, General Ashfaq Kayani, has called for a halt.

Washington appears determined to press forward with drone attacks, which its sees as an effective tool to stem cross-border attacks by militants on foreign forces in Afghanistan.

(Writing by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Zeeshan Haider and Sanjeev Miglani)

View the original article here

Read More

Iran TV: Iran downs U.S. 'spy drone'

A photo provided by the U.S. Air Force of a Predator drone preparing for a mission in February 2004.NEW: U.S. officials said there's no indication of a downed droneThe drone was brought down near a nuclear enrichment plantThe date of the incident was not reported(CNN) -- Iran has brought down a U.S. "spy drone" flying near its Fordo nuclear enrichment plant in Qom province, state-run media reported Wednesday.The date of the incident has not been disclosed, and three U.S. officials said there was no indication or information that a U.S. drone was downed. State-run Press TV reported the development, citing a Tuesday story from another website -- javanonline.ir.Ali Aqazadeh Dafsari, an Iranian lawmaker, said air defense units of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down the drone, Press TV reported, citing javanonline.irDafsari, who is a member of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said that the craft was on a mission to identify the plant's location and collect information about the facility for the CIA.The development emerged as the Iranian government announced on Tuesday that it was installing a new generation of centrifuges in its nuclear facilities. The French Foreign Ministry called the development "a new wave of provocation" that flouts United Nations resolutions.Iran's development of missile and nuclear fuel technology has led to U.N. sanctions and accusations from the United States that the clerical regime is trying to develop nuclear weapons.Iran says it has a right to peaceful nuclear technology. The U.N. nuclear agency has said it cannot verify whether the intent of Tehran's nuclear program remains peaceful.CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this reportView the original article here

Read More