U.S. missile strike kills 3 militants in Pakistan

A U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles into Pakistan’s North Waziristan region on Tuesday, killing three militants, the latest such strike on a major al Qaeda and Taliban sanctuary, officials and residents said.

The attack targeted a militant compound in the Datta Kheil area, about 40 km (25 miles) west of North Waziristan’s main town of Miranshah.

“Smoke is rising from the burning compound,” Javed Iqbal, a resident of Datta Kheil, told Reuters by telephone.

U.S. officials say the pilotless drones are one of the most effective weapons against militants. The strikes have killed senior Taliban and al Qaeda figures.

But they have caused resentment in U.S. ally Pakistan, where anti-American feelings run high. The Pakistani government wants the Americans to provide them with drone technology so the country’s military can carry out its own strikes.