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U.S. drone strike kills six militants in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region

The strike is the 12th to occur in Pakistan's tribal regions in 2015.

By Fred Lambert
A U.S. drone strike on Sept. 1, 2015, is reported to have killed at least six suspected foreign militants in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan. Image from Google Maps
A U.S. drone strike on Sept. 1, 2015, is reported to have killed at least six suspected foreign militants in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan. Image from Google Maps

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. drone strike is reported to have killed six militants in a tribal region of northwestern Pakistan.

Xinhua news agency, quoting local media, reports two missiles being fired into a compound in the Shawal valley of North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan.

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Local residents, fearful of more attacks by drones hovering above, pulled the bodies of the suspected militants from the rubble but said there could be more buried underneath. Some reports suggested foreign militants used the facility.

According to Xinhua, this is the 12th such strike by an unmanned aircraft in Pakistan's tribal areas this year, raising the death toll to 78.

Pakistan has in the past condemned non-permitted U.S. drone strikes in its tribal areas but is itself locked in military struggles with militants in the region.

On Aug. 18, the Pakistani military said it conducted airstrikes that killed 50 militants in the Shawal and Gharlamai area of North Waziristan, while 15 others were killed near the Afghan border in the Khyber tribal agency.

Meanwhile, militants on Aug. 25 are reported to have killed at least three Pakistani soldiers manning a post in the Ladha area of South Waziristan.

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Since June of last year, the Pakistani military has mounted an offensive, known as Zarb-e-Abab, into the country's northwestern tribal regions, reportedly killing 2,500 militants.

The Taliban and other groups, including affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State, are known to operate throughout the area.

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