By Islamuddin Sajid
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) – A U.S. drone strike on Wednesday killed two Afghan nationals in Kurram Agency, northwestern tribal area of Pakistan, near its border with Afghanistan, local officials said.
The drone targeted a house in Spin Tal Dapa, an area bordering Kurram and Orakzai agencies, a local political administration official told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
“Ahsanullah alias Khoraye and Nasir Mehmood were Afghan refugees who have been killed in the attack, ” he said, adding both of them were mid-level commanders of Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network.
The Foreign Office has condemned the attack saying the strike targeted a refugee camp.
“Pakistan has continued to emphasize to the U.S. the importance of sharing actionable intelligence so that appropriate action is taken against terrorists by our forces within our territory, ” it said in a statement.
This was the second drone attack this year. The first on Jan. 17 killed two suspected Afghan nationals in Kurram Agency.
In early January, U.S. President Donald Trump alleged Islamabad was harboring terrorists and cut military aid to the country.
More than 3,450 people have been killed in over 420 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, local media reports said.
According to international think tanks and human rights groups — including Amnesty International and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism — several unarmed civilians have also been killed in U.S. drone attacks.
