US drones kill 21 militants in North Waziristan

WANA: Missile strikes from two US drones killed at least 21 suspected militants in South Waziristan on Monday, officials said.

In the first strike, a missile hit a moving vehicle in Ghalmandi Panga village on the Afghan border, killing eight militants.

A few hours later, another drone fired three missiles into a militant training centre in Mantoi town, about 30 kilogramm north of South Waziristan's main town of Wana.

"It was a big compound which was used as training centre. Militants have cordoned off the area and bodies are being removed from the rubble," an intelligence official in the region, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. Thirteen militants were killed in the second strike.

Another official said militant casualties could rise.

There was no way to verify the deaths independently. Militants often dispute official casualty tolls.

Copyright Reuters, 2011