Updated at 3:09 a.m. ET
The two officials say Thursday’s attack took place in a militant hideout in Khassokhel village near Mir Ali in the North Waziristan tribal area. It was the second such attack in 24 hours in the region.
The officials say most of those killed were Uzbek insurgents. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
More in The killing of Osama bin Laden
Drone strikes have become an increasingly contentious issue between the U.S. and Pakistan. Pakistan’s Parliament recently demanded the U.S. end all drone strikes on its territory. The U.S. has shown no intention of stopping the covert CIA program.
Doctor who aided U.S. bin Laden hunt gets 33 yearsWhite House, Pakistan in talks on supply linesU.S., 거창출장마사지 Pakistan to reach “conclusion” on supply route
The latest strike came a day after a doctor who helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden was convicted of conspiring against the state and sentenced to 33 years in prison, adding new strains to the already deeply troubled relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.
U.S. officials had urged Pakistan to release the doctor, who ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA and verify the al Qaeda leader’s presence at the compound in the town of Abbottabad where U.S. commandos killed him in May 2011 in a unilateral raid.
The lengthy sentence given to Dr. Shakil Afridi on Wednesday will be taken as another sign of Pakistan’s defiance of American wishes. It could give more fuel to critics in the United States that Pakistan which has yet to arrest anyone for helping shelter bin Laden should no longer be treated as an ally.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who as CIA director oversaw the U.S. raid on bin Laden, said in an interview broadcast on CBS’ “60 Minutes” in January that Afridi was “very helpful” with the operation.
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