Pakistan condemns U.S. drone strike in tribal area

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Wednesday condemned a U.S. drone strike in northwest Kurram tribal agency carried out by the U.S.-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM), which targeted an Afghan refugee camp.

Reports earlier suggested that a pilotless aircraft fired two missiles at a compound of suspected militants in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Orakzai Agency, bordering Afghanistan, killing at least two people.

"Pakistan has continued to emphasize to the U.S. the importance of sharing actionable intelligence so that appropriate action is taken against terrorists by our forces within our territory," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Pakistan has also been stressing the need of early repatriation of Afghan refugees as their presence in Pakistan helps Afghan terrorists to melt and morph among them," the statement said.

It added that such unilateral actions are detrimental to the spirit of cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorism.

This is the second drone attack in the country's tribal areas since the beginning of this year. The earlier attack, which took place on Jan. 17, left one man injured in Kurram agency.

Drone strikes are highly unpopular in Pakistani public as they kill militants and innocent people including women and kids without discrimination. Enditem