By Mushtaq Yusufzai, NBC NewsUpdated at 10:09 a.m. ET: PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Eighteen suspected militants were killed in three separate American drone attacks in Pakistan's South Waziristan on Saturday night, military and government sources told NBC News.
Pakistani military officials said the drones fired 10 missiles and pounded three different militant compounds in the Babar district. Eighteen people died in the drone attacks, said the officials, who asked not to be named because they were not allowed to speak to the media.Slideshow: Pakistan: A nation in turmoil (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/34972092/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=34972092&wbSection=news)(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-pakistan-2012/ss-121217-pakistan-tease.photoblog600.jpg) (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/34972092/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=34972092&wbSection=news)Muhammed Muheisen / APImages of daily life, political pursuits, religious rites and deadly violence.Launch slideshowThe militants targeted were led by Hakimullah Mehsud and had set up sanctuaries in the mountainous district, about 85 miles northeast of Wana, the capital of the South Waziristan tribal region. Mehsud's fighters often target the Pakistani army.
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