U.S. drones kill 16 militants in Pakistan

PARACHINAR, Pakistan -- U.S. drones fired four missiles at a compound of a Pakistani militant commander in a northwestern tribal region Thursday, killing 16 militants, while a pair of bombings in another part of the country killed 10 civilians and three security personnel, officials said.

A government administrator in Orakzai region, Salim Khan, said 12 insurgents were also wounded in the drone attack near Biland village, bordering the North Waziristan tribal region. Three Pakistani intelligence officials said the dead and wounded men were fighters loyal to militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is based in North Waziristan.

The United States rarely discusses the unmanned drone strikes, which are part of a covert CIA program. -- AP