Drone strike kills 18 suspected militants

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- At least 18 alleged militants died in a drone strike Wednesday in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region, Pakistani intelligence officials told CNN.

The drone strike, believed to be by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, follows a similar one the previous day in adjacent North Waziristan in which six alleged militants died.

China's Xinhua news agency, quoting Pakistani television channels, said two Pakistan Taliban commanders were among those killed by the missiles fired from the drone that had targeted a compound suspected of being a militant hideout in a hilly area of Jandola.

Xinhua said 532 people, mostly suspected militants, have been killed in such drone strikes so far this year.

U.S. officials say Pakistan's tribal regions are used as havens by the Taliban and al-Qaida militants to launch attacks on U.S. and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan