05 August,2009 01:47 PM IST | | PTI
A US missile strike destroyed the house of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud's father-in-law in the lawless South Waziristan tribal region on Wednesday, killing four people, including a woman.
Officials were quoted by TV news channels as saying that the drone struck the house of Malik Ikramuddin, located near Makeen in South Waziristan Agency, at 12.45 am.
A woman and three men related to Ikramuddin were killed in the attack, officials said. However, militant spokesmen told reporters that a woman and two children were among the dead. Taliban fighters prevented local people from approaching Ikramuddin's house after the missile strike, residents said.
Ikramuddin, the father of Mehsud's second wife, escaped unhurt, they said. There had been a lull in US missile strikes in Pakistan's tribal belt in the past few weeks.
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Pakistan publicly opposes these attacks, describing them as counter-productive for the war on terror and a violation of its sovereignty. However, analysts believe there is a tacit understanding between the US and Pakistan on the attacks.
Mehsud carries a $5 million bounty on his head offered by the US and $615,000 in Pakistan. He is wanted for masterminding several terror attacks, including the killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
