By Ibrahim Shinwari
LANDIKOTAL, Pakistan, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Two suspected U.S. drone aircraft killed at least 20 militants on Friday in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber region on the Afghan border, intelligence officials said, marking three attacks in two days.
The United States has widened drone attacks in Pakistan this year, but almost all of them have been in the North Waziristan tribal region, a known sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants. Attacks in Khyber are highly unusual.
"Five people were killed in the first attack and we have reports of another 15 killed in the second strike that happened just about 2 km (1.2 miles) from the first attack," one intelligence official in the region said.
The two attacks on Friday in Tirah valley occurred within hours of each other. A similar strike the day before killed seven suspected militants in the same region.
Khyber agency is home to Lashkar-e-Islami, a militant organisation sometimes allied with the Pakistani Taliban, but which often wars with other militant factions.
Pilotless U.S. drones have been attacking al Qaeda and Taliban militants for the past few years in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border, but there have been an surge in these strikes this year.
Analysts expect the drone strikes to continue and even increase after the Obama administration on Thursday unveiled its year-old strategy in Afghanistan, where U.S.-led NATO troops are fighting a raging Taliban insurgency.
A five-page unclassified summary of the White House review noted substantial but "uneven" progress in its ties with Islamabad over the last year, emphasising greater cooperation with Pakistan to eliminate safe havens in its border areas.
The United States says Pakistan must crack down harder on militants along the border who cross into Afghanistan and attack U.S.-led troops fighting the Taliban.
As it fights Islamist militants, Pakistan has also been bracing for sectarian violence during Moharram, the holiest month for Shi'ite Muslims, which is under way.
Government officials alleged that militants fired mortar shells and struck two houses in the northwestern town of Hungu, killing nine people, including two children and a woman. The region is often a site of sectarian strife.
Tens of thousands of paramilitary and police forces were deployed across the country on Friday to guard Shi'ite rallies on Ashura, the climax of Moharram and the biggest event in their calendar.
On Ashura, Shi'ite Muslims beat and cut themselves during processions to mark the anniversary of death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad. Sunni militant groups have often attacked Shi'ite gatherings during this period. (Additional reporting by Saud Mehsud; Writing by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Alex Richardson)
(E-mail: augustine.anthony@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: augustine.anthony@thomsonreuters.com; Islamabad newsroom: +92 51 281 0017))
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