US unmanned aircraft crashes in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - A US unmanned aircraft, which was reportedly being used to target militants' hideouts, crashed in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of South Waziristan, local media reported on Friday.

According to the reports, the pilotless plane crashed on Thursday night in the Wana district of South Waziristan, a restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Local media quoting official sources reported that the US drone crashed apparently due to some technical fault.

US-led NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan believed that Pakistan's bordering areas especially North Waziristan and South Waziristan are the safe haven for the militants who allegedly attack NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistan, on a number of times, protested and expressed its reservations over such attacks, terming them the violation of its sovereignty but US considered it an effective strategy to eliminate militants hiding in Pakistan's northwestern hilly area.

In 2012, US-led NATO forces conducted around 38 drone attacks (counted on daily basis) in Pakistan, killing at least 269 people.

On Dec 9, at least four people were killed when a US drone fired four missiles at a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan.

Earlier on Dec 1, US drone attacked a suspected hideout in South Waziristan, the neighboring area of North Waziristan, killing at least four people including an al-Qaida leader Abdul Rehman Azman, a Yemeni national believed to be one of the close aides of the former al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.