Missile strike kills five in Pakistan

MIR ALI, Pakistan – A suspected U.S. missile strike hit a Taliban stronghold near the Afghan border Saturday, killing five alleged militants as they traveled in a vehicle, Pakistani intelligence and government officials said.

The attack was the seventh this month and underscored America’s increasing reliance on drone-fired missiles to take out targets it deems a danger to the war effort in Afghanistan. So far this year, nearly 100 such strikes have occurred in Pakistan.

The three missiles Saturday struck their target just outside Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan.

North Waziristan is believed to be a major Taliban and al-Qaida hideout, and is a key base of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group deemed one of the greatest threats to American and NATO troops across the border in Afghanistan.