Suspected US missiles kill 15 in NW Pakistan

The attack happened in the Bangi Dar village of North Waziristan, a tribal region that is reportedly a base for insurgents responsible for many of the attacks on US and NATO forces just across the border in Afghanistan.

At least four missiles were fired before dawn, two at the mud-brick house and two at the vehicle, Pakistani intelligence officials said. Four of the slain were in the vehicle while at least 11 died in the flattened home.

The US has increasingly relied on missiles fired by unmanned drones — a program that is rarely officially acknowledged — to kill suspected Taliban and al-Qaida-linked fighters based in the northwest.

This was the eighth so far this month while so far this year, nearly 100 such strikes have occurred in Pakistan – a surge over previous years.

Nearly all have hit North Waziristan, the mountainous border region where the Islamists run a virtual mini-state outside the Pakistani government's control

The identity of the dead was not known, and agents were trying to get more details, said the officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the policy of the intelligence agency.

Pakistan's government publicly denounces the missile attacks as a violation of the country's sovereignty and asked Washington to transfer the technology to Islamabad so that the Pakistani army could launch such strikes on its own.