Drone strikes in Pakistan kill suspected militants

Two drone strikes in northwest Pakistan killed at least nine Islamic militants on Friday, according to reports.

Pakistani intelligence officials said the strikes, believed to have been carried out by the U.S., took place in the North Waziristan region, a hotbed for militant activity, the New York Times reported.

{mosads}The first strike targeted a vehicle, killing four foreign fighters, a Pakistani official told the Times. In the second strike, drones hit a compound believed to house a Taliban leader, killing five.

The reports did not identify those believed killed in the attack.

Drone strikes are controversial in Pakistan, where many see the actions as a violation of that country’s sovereignty.

Earlier this month, reports claimed that a top al Qaeda leader, Umar Farooq, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan.

Friday’s strikes come nearly two weeks after a Taliban attack on a school in Peshwar, Pakistan left 148, mostly schoolchildren, dead.

President Obama condemned the “horrific attack” and pledged to help Pakistan “combat terrorism and extremism.”

Since the attack, Pakistan’s military has stepped up its offensive against terror groups in the North Waziristan region and reinstated the death penalty.