US drone strikes kill 5 militants in NW Pakistan

At least five militants were killed when US drones fired missiles at a vehicle and a terrorist hideout in Pakistan's volatile North Waziristan tribal region, the fifth such attack this week.
In the first attack, the CIA-operated drone hit a vehicle in a village in Datta Khel area in North Waziristan, killing two militants late last night.
In the second drone strike in the same area this morning, two missiles were fired at a mud house where millitants were hiding.
Three militants were killed in the attack and the house was completely destroyed, officials said.
The region, where the Pakistani military has been waging a major offensive since June, has long been used as shelter by Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants and has frequently been targeted by US drones.

There has been a spike in drone attacks in North Waziristan this month.
For almost a decade, American drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal belt have been deeply unpopular with the public.
Pakistani officials have publicly condemned the drone strikes saying they violate sovereignty.