US drone 'kills four' in northwest Pakistan
A US drone killed at least four militants in a missile strike Saturday targeting a compound in northwest Pakistan's tribal belt, local security officials said. The attack took place in the village of Heso Khel around 35 kilometres (21 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan which is a notorious stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants. "At least four militants have been killed and the compound has been completely destroyed," a local security official in Miranshah told AFP. A second security official in Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, confirmed the attack but said the death toll may rise. US drone attacks are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, but Washington views them as a vital tool in the fight against Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants in the lawless tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani government has repeatedly protested against drone strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and the