North Waziristan: TTP commander Abdullah Kashmiri ‘killed in US drone strike’

BANNU - A suspected US drone strike killed two Pakistani Tehreek-i-Taliban fighters in the North Waziristan tribal region on Wednesday afternoon, the militant group announced.

In a statement, the TTP - a consortium of several terrorists groups - said the American drone struck a compound in North Waziristan at around 12 p.m. (0700 GMT), killing two, including Abdullah Kashmiri, a little-known commander of the group.

Kashmiri was an electronics expert, the group added.

There was no official word from the Pakistani government or army.

This was the third drone strike in Pakistan since Donald Trump became the US president in January.

On April 26, at least 10 suspected TTP militants were killed in a drone strike - the first since Trump took office - on the outskirts of Datta Khel town, which borders neighbouring Afghanistan.

Another drone strike in May 2016 killed former Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansur in southwestern Balochistan province.

More than 3,450 people have been killed in 418 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, local media reports said.

According to international think tanks and human rights groups - including Amnesty International and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism - several unarmed civilians have also been killed in such US drone attacks.