Drones kill 24 in NW Pakistan

LANDIKOTAL, Pakistan - Three suspected US drone missile strikes killed 24 militants on Friday in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber region on the Afghan border, intelligence officials said, the fourth attack 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-Qaida and Taliban militants. Attacks in Khyber are not very frequent.

Khyber is home to Lashkar-e-Islami, a militant organization sometimes allied with the Pakistani Taliban, but which has often clashed with other groups.