Pakistan: US drones hit militant hideouts, killing 18

Associated Press

ISLAMABAD

U.S. drones fired missiles at three hideouts in a key militant sanctuary close to the Afghan border Friday, killing 18 suspected insurgents in the latest of a series of strikes conducted this week despite protests from Islamabad, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The strikes all took place in the North Waziristan tribal area, the target of a planned Pakistani military operation that the U.S. expects in the near future.

Hundreds of militants and their family members have streamed out of North Waziristan in the past few days in anticipation of the operation, local residents said.

Washington long has demanded Pakistan target militants holed up in North Waziristan and has welcomed the planned operation in the area.

But Islamabad is likely to focus on Taliban militants who have been at war with Pakistan, not those who have been fighting the U.S.-led coalition in neighboring Afghanistan.