(CBS/AP> ISLAMABAD — American missiles slammed into militant hideouts close to the Afghan border Friday, killing 18 suspected militants, Pakistani officials said, just a day after the government summoned an American diplomat to protest the drone strikes in the tribal areas.
The strikes Friday were the fourth attack in the span of a week, as well as the most deadly.
The frequency of such attacks appears to suggest an escalation of the efforts, CBS News experts say.
The drone campaign has been a source of friction between the U.S. and Pakistan, which sees the strikes as an infringement on its sovereignty. The U.S. maintains the campaign is vital to combating militants, including al Qaeda, operating in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region near the Afghan border.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned a U.S. diplomat to protest the recent drone strikes.
“A senior U.S. diplomat was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and informed that the drone strikes were unlawful, against international law and a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. It was emphatically stated that such attacks were unacceptable,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The diplomat was not identified.
One day later, Pakistani intelligence officials said American drone-fired missiles hit three militant hideouts in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal areas.
The officials said each of the three compounds was hit by two missiles. Militants often use these hideouts when they are crossing into Afghanistan, the officials said.
Fourteen people were also injured in the attack.
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