US drone strikes kill 10 in Pakistan

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Two US drone missile strikes have killed 10 suspected militants in a tribal region of north-west Pakistan, Pakistani officials say, reports BBC.
The missiles struck a compound in the Pasalkot area in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border. North Waziristan is a major sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
Hundreds of people, many of them civilians, have been killed in drone attacks since mid-2008. Top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was among them.
Reports said the missiles landed early Thursday morning in a sprawling compound which was used as a religious school in the past.
It is the fifth suspected US drone attack in North Waziristan since the beginning of the year.
Pakistan has publicly criticised drone attacks, saying they fuel support for the militants.
The US military does not routinely confirm drone attacks, but analysts say the US armed forces and CIA in Afghanistan are the only forces capable of deploying drones in the region.
Another report adds:The Pakistani Taliban have denied their leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US missile attack in the north-west.
A Taliban spokesman said Mehsud had been in the area but left before the alleged training camp was attacked. He is on a list of key militant targets.
Hundreds of people have been killed in drone attacks since mid-2008.
Top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, killed last August, was among them.
North and South Waziristan - where the Mehsud faction comes from - are major sanctuaries for militants.
Pakistan's army launched an offensive in South Waziristan in October and is under US pressure to do the same in North Waziristan.
The Pakistan Taliban spokesman confirmed that Hakimullah Mehsud had, until recently, been in the Pasalkot area where the compound was struck.
"But he had left the place already when the drone attack took place. He is alive and completely safe," Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq told the AFP news agency by telephone.
The spokesman did not say when Hakimullah Mehsud left the area, which is to the east of the town of Razmak.