At least 16 people killed, several injured in US drone strikes in South Waziristan

At least 16 people were killed and many others injured in a Saturday morning US drone strike in South Waziristan, a private TV reported. U.S. missiles hit a suspected militant hide-out killing 16 insurgents in a Pakistani tribal region along the Afghan border before dawn Saturday, intelligence officials said. Six missiles struck a compound in the Nazai Narai area of South Waziristan. The hide-out was known to be frequented by foreign fighters who were among the dead, two intelligence officials said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to go on the record, said agents were trying to get more details about the identities and nationalities of the dead. Army spokesmen were not immediately available for comment. According to the Private TV report, the US drone fired five missiles on a compound in Angora Adda locality in South Waziristan, which is reportedly a hideout of the defunct Tehreek-e-Taliban outfit, resulting in killing of 16 persons and injuring of many others. Local people have started rescue activities following the drone attacks and are engaged to clear off rubble for hurrying wounded men to hospital, said the report. The bodies of the 16 people killed in drone strikes have been shifted to hospital for autopsy, said witnesses, adding that the death toll could further rise as many of the injured people are in critical condition. Over 1,000 people have been killed in more than 100 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008.However the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim country. The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.