By IANS,
Islamabad : Top Taliban militant leader Mullah Nazir was among 10 people killed in multiple US drone strikes early Thursday in Pakistan’s South and North Waziristan tribal regions, Dawn News reported.
Taliban and intelligence sources confirmed the killing of the pro-government and anti-US Mullah Nazir along with five of his companions near Wana town of South Waziristan. They were killed when an unmanned drone fired two missiles at a vehicle.
In a separate incident, at least four people were killed and several others wounded in a drone attack on Mubarak Shahi village in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali sub-district.
The US drone targeted a vehicle with two missiles, and then fired another two missiles when rescuers gathered at the site to carry the bodies and the injured, the report added.
Security officials said the toll in the drone strike in North Waziristan was expected to rise.
Mullah Nazir’s deputy, Ratta Khan, was also killed in the attack, BBC reported, citing media reports.
Analysts say Mullah Nazir had formed an alliance with the government and opposed the Pakistani Taliban, with whom he was at odds since he advocated attacks on US forces in Afghanistan rather than Pakistani soldiers.
Earlier reports, which had not named Nazir, had put the casuslties between four and five.
Last year, 39 US drone strikes were launched in the country, mostly in North Waziristan, that killed 274 people, Xinhua reported.