HANGU: At least two people were killed in a US drone strike in northwest tribal area of Hangu on Wednesday.
Two missiles hit a house and killed two people in the village of Dapa Mamozai in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The identities of the deceased suspects have not yet been disclosed.
This is the second drone attack in the country’s tribal areas since the beginning of this year. The earlier attack, which took place on Jan. 17, left one man injured in Kurram agency.
Relations between Washington and Islamabad have frayed over the past month in the wake of Trump’s angry tweet on Jan. 1 about Pakistan’s “lies and deceit” over its alleged support for the Afghan Taliban and their allies. The United States this month also suspended military assistance worth about $2 billion.
Islamabad denies sheltering militants and accuses Washington of not respecting Pakistan’s vast sacrifices in the war on militancy.
Over the past decade, almost all U.S. drone strikes inside Pakistan have taken place within FATA, but some Pakistani officials fear the United States under Trump will begin carrying out strikes outside the tribal areas.