The US killed 12 extremists in the second airstrike in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan in two days.

Unmanned strike aircraft fired at a Taliban compound in the village of Dargamandi in the Tabi Saidgai area, which is three miles northwest of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan. The compound was run by a local tribesman named Maulvi Taib Shah, Dawn reported. Geo News reported the owner of the compound was Ismail Khan.

No senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders have been reported killed at this time, a Pakistani intelligence official told AFP.

The Miramshah area is a stronghold of the Haqqani family, which is led by Jalaluddin Haqqani. The attack was said to have targeted the Haqqani Network.

The Haqqanis have extensive links with al Qaeda and with Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, the Inter-Service Intelligence, or ISI. These relationships have allowed the Haqqani Network to survive and thrive in North Waziristan. The Haqqanis control large swaths of North Waziristan, and run a parallel administration with courts, recruiting centers, tax offices, and security forces.

Siraj Haqqani, a son of Jalaluddin, has risen in prominence over the past year. He is believed to be the mastermind of the most deadly attacks inside Afghanistan and to be the senior military commander in eastern Afghanistan. The US military has described Siraj as the primary threat to security in eastern Afghanistan.

Siraj is considered dangerous not only for his ties with the Afghan Taliban, but also because of his connections with al Qaeda's central leadership, which extend all the way to Osama bin Laden. On March 25, the US Department of State put out a $5 million bounty for information leading to the capture of Siraj.

Today's attack is the second in North Waziristan in two days. Yesterday's strike took place near Mir Ali, a region influenced by al Qaeda leader Abu Kasha al Iraqi. Two senior al Qaeda leaders are rumored to have been killed in the attack.

Both Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior al Qaeda leader and the operational commander of the Harkat-ul Jihad Islami, and Mustafa al Jaziri, a senior military commander who sits on al Qaeda's military committee, may have been killed in the attack, but the reports are unconfirmed.

With today's strike, US has exceeded last year's total of 36 cross-border attacks against al Qaeda and the Taliban in northwestern Paksitan. Of the 37 US strikes carried out in Pakistan this year, 25 have taken place in South Waziristan.

About a month ago, the US killed former Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in an Aug. 5 strike that also killed his wife and several members of his bodyguard. He has been replaced as the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan by Hakeemullah Mehsud.

US attacks inside Pakistan during 2009:

• 12 killed in second US strike in North Waziristan
Sept. 8, 2009
• Senior al Qaeda leaders reported killed in North Waziristan strike
Sept. 7, 2009
• US strikes Taliban compound in South Waziristan, 8 killed
Aug. 27, 2009
• US Predators target the Haqqanis in North Waziristan
Aug. 20, 2009
• US kills 14 in strike on Taliban training camp in South Waziristan
Aug. 11, 2009
• Baitullah Mehsud's wife killed in Predator attack
Aug. 5, 2009
• US Predator strikes in North Waziristan, kills 5
July 17, 2009
• US strikes Taliban communications center in South Waziristan
July 10, 2009
• US kills 25 Taliban in second Predator strike in South Waziristan
July 8, 2009
• US Predator strike on Taliban camp kills 8 in South Waziristan
July 8, 2009
• US Predator strike kills 14 Taliban in South Waziristan
July 7, 2009
• 13 Taliban fighters killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan
July 3, 2009
• Scores of Taliban killed in second US strike in South Waziristan
June 23, 2009
• Six killed in US Predator attack in South Waziristan
June 23, 2009
• US strikes target Mullah Nazir in South Waziristan
June 18, 2009
• US kills five in South Waziristan strike
June 14, 2009
• US strikes Taliban, al Qaeda in North Waziristan
May 16, 2009
• US strikes again in South Waziristan
May 12, 2009
• US strike targets Baitullah Mehsud territory in South Waziristan
May 9, 2009
• US strike kills 10 Taliban in South Waziristan
April 29, 2009
• US airstrike targets Taliban training camp in South Waziristan
April 19, 2009
• US Predator kills four in South Waziristan strike
April 8, 2009
• US strikes Haqqani Network in North Waziristan
April 4, 2009
• US launches first strike in Arakzai tribal agency
April 1, 2009
• Latest US strike targets al Qaeda safe house in North Waziristan
March 26, 2009
• US airstrike kills 8 in Baitullah Mehsud's hometown
March 25, 2009
• US launches second strike outside of Pakistan's tribal areas
March 15, 2009
• US missile strike in Kurram agency kills 14
March 12, 2009
• US airstrike kills 8 in South Waziristan
March 1, 2009
• US airstrike in Pakistan's Kurram tribal agency kills 30
Feb. 16, 2009
• US Predator strike in South Waziristan kills 25
Feb. 14, 2009
• US strikes al Qaeda in North and South Waziristan
Jan. 23, 2009
• US hits South Waziristan in second strike
Jan. 2, 2009
• US kills 4 al Qaeda operatives in South Waziristan strike
Jan. 1, 2009

For a summary of US strikes inside Pakistan in 2008, see US strikes in 2 villages in South Waziristan.