A suspected U.S. drone attack reportedly killed four "extremists" in North Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan, Wednesday night.
According to Pakistan intelligence and paramilitary officials, the unmanned aircraft fired two missiles at a suspected militant hideout in Shanakhora village, about 12 miles (20 km) west of the town of Miranshah, killing the four.
The identity of the four killed and the six wounded was not known, said the officials. Local residents expect more drone attacks after they saw the drones flying even after the strike.
"It was a U.S. drone attack which targeted a militant compound, killing four militants and wounding five others," a Pakistani daily quoted a senior security official, as saying.
Confirming the attack, another official said two missiles were fired from the drone in the Hamzoli area of North Waziristan--a stronghold of Taliban militants and their al-Qaida allies.
Pakistan "publicly" objects to the drone strikes, saying they violate its "sovereignty," but U.S. officials say the strikes are being carried out under an agreement with Islamabad that allows Pakistani leaders to decry the attacks in public but admit it in private.
The United States carried out 44 attacks with its pilotless, missile-firing drones, reportedly of the CIA, in northwest Pakistan this year as its forces in neighboring Afghanistan come under attack from a resurgent Taliban. There were 32 such strikes last year, according to reports from Pakistan security agents, government officials and residents.
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