US drone strikes kill 15 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR – US drone strikes on Monday killed 15 militants in Pakistan’s tribal district of South Waziristan, destroying compounds in twin attacks just minutes apart, local security officials said.

The first strike killed seven militants in the early hours in Shalam Raghzai, 10 kilometres (six miles) northwest of Wana, the district’s main town.

A second strike slammed two missiles into a compound in the Wacha Dana area, 12 kilometres northwest of Wana, Pakistani officials said.

“At least eight militants were killed when a US drone fired two missiles on a compound,” a senior security official told AFP.

Officials said initial reports suggested that some foreign militants may have been killed in the first attack and that Pakistani Taliban were targeted in the second strike, which came just 15 minutes later.