Drone attack kills six in Pakistan's North Waziristan

"A U.S. drone fired four missiles on a compound and on a car in Datta Khel town killing six people, and injuring two," a senior military official detailed in the region told the Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity. So far, the bodies have not been identified due to the area being inaccessible. The two injured are in critical condition, the official said. Datta Khel, which sits on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, has become a new battleground between the army and the Taliban. Intelligence and local sources say militants loyal to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group -- the public face of the Haqqani network are positioned in parts of Datta Khel, the hometown of Gul Bahadur. This is the sixth drone attack in Datta Khel in 2014. Last month around 20 suspected militants were killed in the last drone strike in the area. Although, the U.S., Pakistan’s close ally in the so-called 'war on terror', is receptive to military action in North Waziristan, it demands "tougher" action against the Haqqani network, a group blamed for various attacks on foreign forces across the border. The U.S. accuses the Pakistani army of targeting only militants belonging to Pakistani Taliban’s mother coalition, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and sparing the Haqqani network. 

The U.S. has reportedly warned that if Pakistan does not take action against the Haqqani network, it will resume its drone strikes on the restive region.

Independent sources and human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, blame the U.S. for killing civilians, including women and children in the drone attacks in the Waziristan region -- an allegation which the U.S. administration denies. 

Though, there are no specific figures on civilian casualties from the drone attacks, some estimates put the figure at between 50 and 60 percent -- a figure significant enough to raise concerns that the attacks might ultimately alienate local communities and further bolster the ranks of the militants.

So far, over 3,300 people have been killed in 390 drone attacks since 2004.