NORTH WAZIRISTAN: A drone strike in North Waziristan’s Datta Khel tehsil killed 20 people and injured five others, Express News reported on Wednesday.

The unmanned aircraft targeted a house and a vehicle near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Four missiles were fired in this latest attack, two on the house and two on the vehicle.

Drones are still flying low in the area as locals try to take bodies out of the rubble.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in drone attacks since August 2008, according to an AFP tally, with critics charging that the strikes cause many civilian casualties.

Related : Drone strike in North Waziristan kills 7, injures 3

Previous strikes

July 10 – Drone strike in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan killed seven people and injured three others.

June 18 – At least six militants were killed in Miramshah, North Waziristan.

June 11 – Two successive drone strikes reportedly killed around 16 people and injured few others in Miramshah.

This was the year’s first drone strike after a six-month lull. The previous drone attack on Pakistani soil occurred on December 25, 2013 in the Qutab Khel area of Miramshah, killing four suspected militants.

According to media reports, the strikes were temporarily halted at the Pakistani government’s request.

First Published In The Express Tribune, 16th July, 2014.