US drone raid kills 6 in NW Pakistan

At least six people have been killed in the latest non-UN-sanctioned US drone strike in the northwestern tribal belt of Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, Press TV reports. - The unmanned aircraft on Thursday fired two missiles in Dandey Darpakhel village, some seven kilometers north of Miranshah, the capital of the North Waziristan tribal district, AFP reported. The assault destroyed a compound leaving six people dead, local security officials said. The US regularly carries out attacks by unmanned aircraft on Pakistan's tribal regions, claiming the airstrikes target pro-Taliban militants. But locals say civilians are the main victims of the non-UN-sanctioned US strikes. The aerial attacks, initiated by former US President George W. Bush, have escalated under President Barack Obama. While the US government has always declined to publicly discuss its aerial attacks in Pakistan, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta admitted on Tuesday that the US is fighting a war in Pakistan by using the drones. On Sunday, a Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman said the US drone attacks on its territory were unacceptable and a violation of the country's sovereignty. “It is very clear that drone attacks are against the sovereignty of Pakistan,” Tehmina Janju stated.