Four suspected militants near the Afghan border in Pakistan were killed Wednesday by U.S. missiles from unmanned drones, intelligence agents said.
A Pakistani intelligence head said the strike took out the No. 2 commander of the country’s Taliban — but members of the militant group deny that, and independent confirmation of his death is still pending, The Associated Press reported.
But if true, the drone strike would have killed Waliur Rehman, the second-in-charge of the Pakistani Taliban. Three Pakistan officials said in the AP report that he is among the dead, and two of those officials said they actually saw the body, AP reported.
The strikes come on the heels of President Obama’s speech last week on new drone policy that outlined new restrictions on their use in Pakistan, Yemen and other nations, AP reported.
The four militants were killed in the North Waziristan tribal area, AP said. The militant stronghold is a mountainous area on the border with Afghanistan.
Intelligence officials from Pakistan also claim the missiles took out a home in Miran Shah, the main town in the area, AP reported. The house was a suspected hideout for the militants, unnamed officials said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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