Drone kills eight suspected militants in Pakistan

A U.S. drone aircraft killed eight suspected Islamist militants in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, security officials said. A drone missile struck a house in the Shawal Valley where militants were reported to be hiding in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border. "Two missiles were fired on a house. Eight militants were killed," said a local intelligence official. The drone attacks, which fuel anti-American sentiment in Pakistan because they can kill civilians and are seen as a violation of sovereignty, are one of several factors straining ties between strategic allies Washington and Islamabad. The CIA, which operates the drones remotely, has stepped up strikes in recent weeks in North Waziristan, described by Western intelligence agencies as a global hub for militants. The escalated campaign means the United States may have obtained information on high-value targets like members of the Haqqani network, one of the deadliest Afghan insurgent groups fighting U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.