Seven killed in US drone strike in NW Pakistan

At least seven people were killed and 15 others injured in a U.S. drone attack in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of Orakzai on Thursday, local media reported. The U.S. unmanned aircraft fired four missiles at a religious seminary in the Bilandkhel area of Upper Orakzai, one of Pakistan' s seven restive tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. The seminary is being run under the supervision of Maulvi Shakirullah, who is considered to be close with extremist Haqqani Network. It was unclear whether he was present in the school at the time of attack. Early on Wednesday morning, at least five people were killed when a U.S. drone fired at a suspected militants compound in the country's northwest tribal region of North Waziristan. According to Xinhua's tally, Thursday's strike is the 33rd of its kind in 2012. So far this year at least 234 people have been killed in such strikes.