A US drone strike killed at least 21 suspected militants in North Waziristan region on Wednesday, officials said, just days after Pakistan called for "clear terms of engagement" in the US-Pakistan relationship. Among those targeted in the attack on a house 3km (2 miles) east of the main town of Miranshah were members of the Haqqani network responsible for the worsening insurgency in eastern Afghanistan, and foreign militants.
"The dead included local Taliban as well as some Arabs and Uzbek nationals," an intelligence official in North Waziristan said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. It was the largest strike since July 12, when US drones killed 48 suspected militants in North Waziristan.
Drone strikes have been a major source of friction between the United States and Pakistan, with ties at their worst since US Special Forces killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in a Pakistani garrison town in May. Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari called for "clear terms of engagement" between the two countries in the fight against members of al Qaeda and the Taliban operating in the country.
He did not spell out the terms of engagement but they likely involve more consultation on drone strikes as well as greater oversight of CIA activities in Pakistan, military experts said. Some Afghan insurgents belonging to the Haqqani network, a major militant fighting US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan, were among the dead in Wednesday's strike, a Pakistani intelligence official said. It was not immediately known if any high-profile militants were among the dead.