ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 8 (UPI) -- A suspected U.S. drone strike Wednesday, the second such this week, killed several militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, security officials said.
The strike targeted a suspected insurgent training camp in the village of Zoynarai in the Shawal area near the border with Afghanistan, killing 19 people, Geo News reported.
CNN, quoting intelligence officials, said 16 suspected militants died in the strike.
U.S. and NATO forces have long held the tribal regions of Pakistan, including Waziristan, are sanctuaries for Islamic militants to launch attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan. There has been a sharp increase in such drone attacks recently with the rise in militant violence in Afghanistan.
"In North Waziristan, U.S. drones fired five missiles at a suspected militant training camp, killing 19 militants," Geo News quoted a senior security official as saying. The report said another security official confirmed the attack and death toll.
On Monday, three suspected U.S. drone strikes, this time in the South Waziristan region, reportedly killed as many as 21 militants.
