(Previous Incident Code: Ob338 )

Between eight and 15 alleged militants were killed by airstrikes in Datta Khel Tehsil. No civilian casualties were reported.

A drone reportedly fired multiple missiles at a building or buildings in a suburb of Datta Khel in the early hours of the morning, reportedly killing at least 11 alleged militants. Initial reports put the death toll at eight however three people recovered from wreckage with “serious burns” subsequently died of their injuries.

The drones reportedly targeted a “sprawling compound“, “two suspected militant hideouts” or a compound and two vehicles filled with explosives. And one official described the target as: “There are tents and there are mud houses, occupied by militants fleeing Miram Shah and Mir Ali.”

This is the third strike this month in the Datta Khel area – all three targeted a building and possibly vehicles. The latest attack came three days after the bloodiest strike in over a year. A tribal elder suggested US drones were attacking the area, rather than Pakistani troops, because it is in the control of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who had declared a ceasefire with the Pakistani government.

None of the dead were named and it was not clear what armed group they belonged to. The bodies were “mutilated beyond recognition”, an unnamed source said.

Several sources described most of the people killed as members of the Punjabi Taliban – locals told the New York Times 10 of the dead were from Punjab, and five others were affiliated with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). Several other sources also reported a majority of Punjabis and minority of alleged IMU fighters among the dead.

However the Wall Street Journal reported some of the dead were fighters loyal to senior local commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur. And two unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials said the dead were TTP members. Two important commanders were killed in the strike, a “senior security official” told AFP. He said: “The drone fired eight missiles on the compound around 2:00am (2100 GMT) on Saturday killing eleven members of the Punjabi faction of the Pakistani Taliban.”

The Pakistani government condemned the strike and sought to downplay suggestions it is complicit in the US drone war.