U.S. drone kills 5 Pakistan militants

ISLAMABAD -- Two missiles fired from an unmanned American spy aircraft slammed into a militant hideout in northwestern Pakistan last evening, killing five militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The two officials said missiles from the drone hit the village of Dawar Musaki in the North Waziristan region, which borders Afghanistan to the west. Some of the dead were believed to be foreign fighters, but the officials did not know how many or where they were from.

The CIA's drone program is controversial in Pakistan, where residents view it as an affront to their sovereignty and contend it often results in civilian deaths. Washington says the program is vital to combating militants who threaten the United States and who use Pakistan's tribal regions as a safe haven.

Pakistan wants the drone strikes stopped, or it wants to control them directly, which the United States refuses.

It was the second strike in three days. On Saturday, a U.S. drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in northwest Pakistan, killing four suspected militants. That attack took place in the village of Mohammed Khel, also in North Waziristan.

North Waziristan is the last tribal region in which the Pakistan military has not launched an operation against militants, despite U.S. pressure to do so.

The Pakistanis contend that their military is overstretched, with operations in other areas. Many in the United States believe they are reluctant because of long-standing ties to some militants operating there, such as the Haqqani network. -- AP