Pakistani officials told Dawn that the unmanned Predators or Reapers fired three missiles at a compound and a vehicle in the village of Tappi near Miramshah in North Waziristan. "The official sources also said that three cows have also been killed as the house was completely destroyed," Dawnreported.
The target of today's strike has not been disclosed. No senior al Qaeda or allied jihadist commanders from foreign terrorist groups are reported to have been killed in the strike.
Terrorists are known to have sheltered in the village of Tapi in the past. The US has struck at targets in the village five other times since the beginning of 2008, according to data on the strikes that has been compiled by The Long War Journal.
The Haqqani Network, a Taliban group that operates in North Waziristan and Kurram, as well as in eastern Afghanistan, administers the area where today's attack took place. Al Qaeda leaders and operatives, who are closely allied with the Haqqani Network, shelter in the area, as do other terror groups. The US added the Haqqani Network to the list of global terror groups in September 2012 for supporting al Qaeda and conducting attacks in Afghanistan.
Today's strike is the fourth in Pakistan this month and the first since Oct. 11, when the drone strayed outside the traditional "kill boxes" of North and South Waziristan and hit a camp in Arakzai. Sixteen "militants" loyal to Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar were killed in the strike.
Today's strike is the 19th in Pakistan since June 4, when the US killed Abu Yahya al Libi, one of al Qaeda's top leaders, propagandists, and religious figures. Abu Yahya was killed in a strike on a compound in Mir Ali in North Waziristan. Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen fighters belonging to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were reportedly among the 14 terrorists killed along with Abu Yahya.
The US has carried out 40 strikes in Pakistan so far this year. Twenty-one of the strikes have taken place since the beginning of June; 18 occurred in North Waziristan, two were in South Waziristan, and one has taken place in Arakzai.