TTP number 2 killed in Waziristan strike

ISLAMABAD (PAN’s northwestern tribal region early Wednesday morning, officials said.

Wali-ur-Rehman, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) number two, was among the dead, though the insurgent group denied his death. The commander was set to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as TTP chief, according to Reuters news agency.

The CIA-operated pilotless aircraft fired two missiles into a house in the Chashma village of North Waziristan Agency, a tribal administration official told Pajhwok Afghan News over the telephone from Miranshah.

Indicating the death toll from the drone strike — the first since the May 11 general elections — could increase, the official said on condition of anonymity the drones flew over the area after the raid.

A local security official, who confirmed the attack, said the wounded were evacuated to hospital. Most of them are said to be in critical condition.

Meanwhile, Pakistan expressed serious concern over the drone attack as a violation of its national sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The government of Pakistan has expressed serious concern over the US drone attack that occurredin North Waziristan on May 29.”

In a statement, the spokesman said Pakistan had consistently maintained the strikes were counter-productive, entailing the loss of innocent civilian lives.

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