The causalities come after US drones targeted suspected militants in an area of North Waziristan tribal region, Xinhua reported.
The US frequently carries out such attacks on Pakistan’s tribal areas. Attacks by unmanned American planes have left dozens of people dead in the volatile region over the past weeks.
The aerial attacks, initiated by former US president George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Barack Obama. Washington claims the attacks target al-Qaeda-linked and pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. However, locals insist that the strikes kill mostly civilians.
The issue of civilian casualties has strained relations between Islamabad and Washington. Pakistan has repeatedly condemned the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty, asserting that such attacks have proven counterproductive in the so-called war against terrorism.
The United Nations says the US-operated drone strikes in Pakistan pose a growing challenge to the international rule of law.
Philip Alston, UN special envoy on extrajudicial killings, said in a report in late October 2010 that the attacks were undermining the rules designed to protect the right of life. Alston also said he feared that the drone killings by the US Central Intelligence Agency could develop a “playstation” mentality.
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Location: Islamabad
