Islamabad: In stepped-up attacks in Pakistan s restive northwest, at least 10 people were killed and 35 injured today in a missile strike by a suspected US drone in the tribal belt and a suicide blast at a police post in the nearby Swat valley.

The missiles from the drone targeted a house in South Waziristan, a stronghold of the local Taliban led by Baitullah Mehsud, killing six people and wounding five. This was the first time that the Mehsud tribe was hit by missiles.

Local residents and witnesses told Dawn News channel that at least three missiles were fired at two houses, destroying them completely and security agencies said that an Arab militant was killed and another injured. People kept away from the targeted house as number of drones were seen circling the area raising fear of more attacks.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Mehsud was accused by the government of masterminding the killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Pakistani officials have blamed 90 per cent of the bombings on the local Taliban.

US military and CIA drones that patrol the skies in the adjoining border areas in Afghanistan are believed to have carried out at least a dozen missile attacks against suspected militant targets in Pakistan since August. But, Pakistani as well as US officials rarely confirm such attacks.

With Pakistani forces intensifying operations to clear its restive tribal territory of the Taliban and foreign militants, the terrorists have struck back by carrying out a number of suicide bombings.

In the second attack, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a police post in Mingora, the main town of Swat, killing four security personnel and injuring 29 others in a pre-dawn attack.
Source : PTI