By Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD
Thirteen suspected Taliban members were killed by U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region Tuesday, a senior intelligence official said.
The fourth wave of strikes in two days takes the number of suspected militants killed by Predator drones in the region to 27.
The intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the latest attacks targeted militant hideouts in Kandghar, in the remote Shawwal Valley next to the Afghan border.
There was no immediate information about whether a senior Taliban commander was the target of the attacks. Attacks over Monday and Tuesday have mainly targeted the Datta Khel and Shawwal areas, where the Taliban have reportedly fled following a military offensive in North Waziristan since June.
The Pakistan military is not on the ground in Datta Khel or Shawwal but it claims airstrikes have killed nearly 1,300 Taliban suspects.
Around 3,400 people have been killed in nearly 400 drone strikes since 2004. Pakistani intelligence sources and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, claim 70 percent of victims are civilians.
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