A United States (US) drone strike killed at least nine Pakistani militants in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province early on Tuesday.
According to official reports, the killed militants were identified as LI Commander, Fazal Amin and Wajid from the Malik Din Khel clan of the Afridi tribe.
Others include commander Shamat Khan, Commander Sahar Gul and Shakir from the Sepah tribe.
Tuesday’s drone strike was near the site of fierce fighting on the Pakistani side of the border in recent days. Fighter jets have been pounding positions in the Tirah Valley in the Khyber region, and the military said it has killed scores of militants.
At least seven soldiers have also been killed.
Two Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed Tuesday’s strike in the Nazyan area of Nangarhar near Pakistan’s Khyber Agency.
They said the nine militants belonged to the Pakistani Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam, which announced an alliance with the Taliban earlier this month.
No one tracks drone strikes in Afghanistan – many of them take place in remote regions and are not reported – but Taliban commanders said that fighters there were being increasingly targeted since late last year.
The strikes came amid warming relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, traditionally hostile neighbors who accuse each other of harboring insurgents to act as proxy forces.
Relations improved after Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani was elected last year. Pakistan said that it is supporting potential peace talks between the Afghan government and Afghan Taliban.
Diplomats hoped Pakistan could pressure Afghan Taliban with bases in Pakistan to negotiate.
But Pakistan has also said it wants to see action taken against Pakistani insurgents with bases in Afghanistan.
