At least '10 dead' in Pakistan drones strike

Drones: Changing modern warfare

An attack by US drones in northern Pakistan has killed at least 10 people near the Afghan border, local officials have told the BBC.

They say that five drones fired eight missiles near Miran Shah, the main town in the tribal region of North Waziristan.

Officials say that at least three foreigners are among the dead.

They said that the two camps, located near each other and used by suspected militants, were hit in the strikes.

Ambitious offensive

"Initial reports suggest four militants have been killed. There could be more casualties," a security official in North Waziristan told the Reuters news agency.

Correspondents say that, as with many other drone strikes, it is not clear which groups were targeted in the latest strike, which took place in a region believed to harbour many Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

It is also in an area which has not seen many airstrikes in the past.

North Waziristan adjoins South Waziristan, where Pakistani troops last year concluded an ambitious offensive against the Taliban.

There have been scores of drone strikes since August 2008, which have killed well over 600 people.

Critics say that many of the dead are civilians - and that the US has stepped up such attacks since eight people working for the American Central Intelligence Agency were killed in a suicide bomb attack in the Afghan province of Khost at the end of last year.

The US military does not routinely confirm drone attacks.

But the Obama administration has made no secret of its desire for Islamabad to stamp out militant groups who cross the porous border from the tribal belt into Afghanistan.

Pakistan has publicly criticised drone attacks, saying they fuel support for the militants.