US resumes drone strikes on Pakistan

Local officials said two suspected U.S. drone strikes in a troubled northwest tribal district of Pakistan killed 16 people yesterday and early this morning. If confirmed, these would be the first U.S. drone strikes in the country in six months.

It come days after militants attacked Karachi international airport, killing 39 people, including 10 attackers.

Washington agreed to suspend its drones programme in December to allow Islamabad to pursue peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).

But pressure has been mounting on the Pakistani authorities to launch a ground offensive on the region amid a breakdown in peace talks.

Security officials from Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, said six suspected militants were killed by missiles fired by an unmanned spy plane in the Darga Mandi area Wednesday evening.

“The missiles struck a house and a nearby vehicle that were believed to be of suspected militants,” an intelligence official from the region said.