4 Militants Killed in U.S. Drone Attack in Pakistan

A U.S. drone attack has hit a militant compound in Pakistan's northwest, the first since a November helicopter strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and triggered a crisis in relations.

Four militants were killed late Tuesday when two missiles struck the compound on the outskirts of Miranshah in North Waziristan, a lawless tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The attack set the building on fire and flames could be seen from the roofs of houses in Miranshah, which lies five kilometers (three miles) away, residents reported.

The drone attack, which was confirmed by two other security officials, was the first since the November 25-26 helicopter attacks on a Pakistan border checkpoint.

The incident triggered outrage in Pakistan and aggravated tensions in an already shaky relationship, prompting Islamabad to block crucial NATO supply convoys to Afghanistan.

A joint U.S.-NATO investigation concluded last month that a disastrous spate of errors and botched communications led to the deaths.

It said that both sides failed to give the other information about their operational plans or the location of troops and that there was inadequate coordination by U.S. and Pakistani military officers.

Brigadier General Stephen Clark, who led the probe, said the episode reflected "an over-arching lack of trust between the two sides as far as giving out specifics.”

Pakistan rejected the results of the coalition's investigation and insisted the strikes had been a deliberate act of aggression.

The U.S. drone campaign has killed dozens of al-Qaida operatives and hundreds of low-ranking fighters in Pakistan since the first Predator strike in 2004, but the program has infuriated many Pakistanis.

The Los Angeles Times reported last month that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had suspended drone strikes on gatherings of low-ranking militants in Pakistan due to the tensions caused by the campaign.

The latest drone strike came on the same day that a remote-controlled bomb blast killed 35 people and wounded more than 60 others in the troubled Khyber tribal region of northwest Pakistan.