Pakistan: Suspected drone strikes kill 12

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. drone strikes struck a militant hideout in Pakistan's North Waziristan, killing 12 militants, two Pakistani intelligence officials told CNN.

The strikes Monday targeted the hideout in Shawal Daray Nishtar in the tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, the officials said.

China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Pakistan's Urdu language TV channel Dunya as saying several others were injured in the strikes. The report said the drones fired eight missiles.

U.S. officials have said militants use the region as hideouts to launch cross border attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan. The drone strikes, however, have become a source of constant friction in the relations between the United States and Pakistan.