A U.S. drone attack has killed at least 18 suspected militants in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, local authorities said on Sunday.
All the 18 militants were killed on Sunday in the Orakzai tribal region. On Saturday, two soldiers were killed in the area after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb, the authorities said.
Violence surged in the country in 2009, with Taliban militants staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and planting roadside devices as part of their fight against U.S. and NATO troops.
Over 600 militants, including several influential Taliban commanders, were killed in drone airstrikes in the country's restive tribal belt in 2009.
MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti)
