There has been a second missile strike into the Pakistan Tribal areas thought to be where the remnants of al-Qaeda are hiding out in their last sanctuary on Earth.

It is the second missile strike in two days in Pakistani tribal region and the local tribesmen said the missile was fired from a U.S drone.

The missile hit a house in North Waziristan tribal region, killing three persons and injuring four others, local tribesmen said.

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On Saturday, five people were killed and two others injured when a missile hit the house of a tribesman in Wana, the center of South Waziristan.

According to locals, two Arab nationals were among those killed in the Saturday’s attack.

These must be high valued targets to waste missiles and issues with Pakistan on only two Arabs in a dusty North Waziristan town. This is the first strike I have heard of against North Waziristan Agency. Nearly all the others have been targeted at South Waziristan Agency. More here on the deceased “civilians”:

While the security personnel were ambushed near the strategic Kohat tunnel, the missile attack took place in the militancy hotbed of Miranshah, the capital of the Taliban and al qaeda stronghold of north Waziristan province, officials were quoted by media channels as saying.

We have had no clear indication on who the targets have been on the latest missile strikes (there was another strike on South Waziristan a few weeks back). It is not normal for the results of these strikes to go unreported for so long. Here are some details on this latest strike:

A missile fired from an unmanned aircraft hit a house in a restive Pakistani tribal area on Sunday, killing six people including a woman and a young girl, residents and officials said. The attack took place in the village of Tappi, located about 10 kms (six miles) southeast of Miranshah, the main town in volatile North Waziristan on the Afghan border. “The death toll has risen to six and eight others are injured,” a security official told AFP, updating an earlier toll.

“Most of the dead are foreign militants including Arabs and Uzbeks,” he said, but later added that those killed included a woman and a young girl who lived nearby and had been hit by shrapnel caused by the strike. Residents said the missile was fired from a pilotless aircraft and that the house belonged to a local tribesman who had rented it out to militants.

There has been a series of missile strikes on militants in Pakistan in recent weeks attributed to US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan.

This increased cadence of attacks seems to be one of the conditions the US demanded of Pakistan if it where to let Musharraf step down without any repercussions against Pakistan support. What is not clear is if this increased cadence is doing the job and decimating the al-Qaeda command structure. Here’s to hoping it is!

Tags: al-Qaeda, FATA, Missile, North Waziristan, Pakistan, South Waziristan