US drone 'kills two' in Pakistan

The missile strikes have been criticised by Pakistan's political parties

A suspected pilotless American drone has fired a missile in a border area of Pakistan, killing two people, Pakistani security officials say.

Officials say the missile destroyed a house in North Waziristan. The identity of those killed is not known.

US-operated pilotless drones have launched more than 20 missile attacks in Pakistani tribal areas since August.

The government is under immense public pressure to defend its territory against such attacks.

A local villager, Ajab Khan, told the Associated Press news agency that the strike on Monday night had set a house on fire.

He spoke of seeing two bodies and three wounded people taken away in a vehicle and Taleban militants surrounding the house later.

Violation

Drone attacks are believed to have been largely on-target, hitting Taleban and al-Qaeda hideouts in the north-western Waziristan tribal region.

There have been few civilian casualties, officials say.

But Pakistani media and opposition parties term these attacks as a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said his government was considering "a number of options" to counter attacks by US drones inside its territory.

His statement came after Pakistan's air force chief said his force was equipped to tackle the drones militarily.

The opposition have been pressing the government either to counter US strikes militarily, or to at least raise the issue at the United Nations.

The Pakistani government says these attacks are counter-productive as they help offset the negative popularity the Islamist militants have gained in areas under their control.

However, it has been reluctant to move either diplomatically or militarily to stop these strikes.

This has fuelled speculation that the attacks may be part of a secret pact between Pakistan and the US.