U.S. Drones Kill Brother of Taliban Commander in Pakistan

A U.S. drone strike on Thursday killed the brother and a close relative of a Pakistani Taliban commander in the badlands of South Waziristan along the Afghan border, officials said.

Four militants were killed when four missiles slammed into a pick-up truck travelling through Azam Warsak, 20 kilometers west of Wana, the main town of the tribal district synonymous with Taliban, the officials told Agence France Presse.

The strike indicates that U.S. intelligence has penetrated the close family circle of Maulvi Nazir, a Pakistani commander who leads Islamist militants in battle against American troops across the border in Afghanistan.

"The U.S. drones targeted a vehicle in the Azam Warsak area in South Waziristan and fired four missiles killing four militants," said one of the officials who was not authorized to speak publicly to the media.

It was the first drone strike for nearly two weeks, since October 15, when another four fighters were killed in the mountains further west of Wana.

"Nazir's younger brother Omar Wazir has been killed, it has been confirmed," a Pakistani security official told AFP.

His death was confirmed by another intelligence official.

Security officials said another close relative of Nazir was also among those killed in the strike. His exact relation was not immediately clear.

The missile hit the moving pick-up, security officials said adding that four militants died and two were wounded.