US drone "kills five Taliban commanders" in Pakistan

A U.S. drone strike on a vehicle on Thursday killed five commanders of one of Pakistan's most influential Taliban leaders, Maulvi Nazir, one of the faction's senior commanders told Reuters. Nazir's faction, based in Pakistan's South Waziristan, where the drone struck, focuses on attacking U.S.-led NATO troops across the border in Afghanistan.

The senior commander identified four of the dead as Hazrat Omar, Nazir's younger brother, Khan Mohammad, Miraj Wazir and Ashfaq Wazir.

The United States has killed high-profile al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in Pakistan's restive tribal regions with drone strikes. The latest attack comes nearly a week after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Islamabad accompanied by high-level U.S. military and intelligence officials.

Clinton again urged Pakistan to eliminate what Washington says are safe havens along its porous border with Afghanistan.

The New America Foundation think tank estimates at least 325 militants were killed in U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan this year.

-Reuters