Five Taliban from the Punjab were killed in a missile attack from an unmanned US spy plane in South Waziristan, local residents said on Monday. "A total of five Punjabi Taliban were killed in two different attacks," tribal elders and administration officials said on condition of anonymity. The local residents said the Taliban were patrolling the area in pickup trucks mounted with heavy guns and had been firing at drones wherever they spotted them. The vehicles were camouflaged with mud and grass.The first Taliban pickup was struck while on patrol in Ghawakhawa, seven kilometres south of Wana. Three Taliban were killed.
The second missile struck a stationary vehicle in Azam Warsak. The two Taliban sitting in the truck were killed. A local resident said a gun was mounted on the pickup, which the Taliban were using to target drones.
AFP reported an official as saying, "Two vehicles fitted with guns were destroyed." The official said eight Taliban were killed.
The strikes caused huge fires in both villages, sending panicked residents running into the streets, the security official said, adding that one house was damaged.
Hundreds of Taliban later gathered in the two villages to offer funeral prayers for those killed, local residents told AFP.