A US drone fired two missiles at a vehicle and killed 10 militants in the Mandao Shakti area of South Waziristan on Friday. Local officials and tribesmen said the vehicle carrying several militants was passing through the area and was hit close to the border with North Waziristan Agency. So far the militants could not be identified, but local tribesmen believe that they include some foreigners. Separately, security forces claimed to have killed an important militant commander and his six companions during an operation in Upper Orakzai Agency.
Official sources said the troops launched a coordinated attack against the militants and killed Gul Wali, a key militant commander, and his six accomplices. Officials said troops also seized a huge cache of arms in the operation. Elsewhere in Faroz Khel, peace committee leader Malik Waris Khan was killed by a suicide bomber. Khan had been awarded with Nishan-e-Imtiaz for his peace efforts in the area. The political administration also confirmed Khan’s death, saying he was killed while shopping at a local fair.