Updated 10/23 6:30 PM EST
A missile attack by what is assumed to be a US drone has targeted a village near Miramshah in North Waziristan. The village is the same one targeted last month in a strike which killed at least 23. It is the site of a religious school founded by Julaluddin Haqqani. A witness in Miramshah says “a large number of militants are rushing towards the area in vehicles.”
The missiles struck a religious school and a nearby compound, killing ten and wounding six others. All the casualties were local residents according to one villager, while another said they were all militant fighters. Reports link the attack to Haqqani’s influence in the village, but his compound was not hit in the attack, leaving the motivations behind it a matter of speculation.
The US has launched over a dozen attacks in North and South Waziristan over the past months, and the unilateral attacks have seriously damaged relations with Pakistan. Pakistan’s military has said it will consider all incursions into Pakistani territory “hostile” and that border troops are under orders to engage any intruders.