US Predator drones launched their third strike in the past 24 hours today, firing multiple missiles at a suspected “hideout” in Datta Khel village, North Waziristan Agency, and killing at least 12 suspects.

The “hideout” in question amounted to a cluster of tents occupied by nomads who regularly migrate back and forth across the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan. The identities of the slain were not clear.

A pair of drone attacks yesterday killed at least 17 people and wounded numerous others in roughly the same region. The US has yet to comment on any of the attacks, which is in keeping with their usual strategy with the CIA drone strikes.

US officials have been trying to cajole Pakistani forces into invading North Wazirsitan, a difficult proposition for a government already fighting myriad wars across its northern border at America’s behest. If the US attacks continue, however, it could provoke a reaction from the militants in the region, sparking a broader war that forces Pakistan to get involved, ready or not.

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