FACTBOX - U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan

By Augustine Anthony

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Missiles fired from a U.S. drone at militants after a funeral for a Taliban commander in South Waziristan near the Afghan border killed about 70 insurgents on Tuesday, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Civilian casualties caused by the missile-carrying, pilotless drones, operated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, have infuriated many Pakistanis and made it harder for the government to cooperate with the United States.

Here are some facts about the U.S. missile attacks, the controversy they have caused, and a list of some of the more prominent militants killed, according to Pakistani officials.

WHY DOES THE UNITED STATES ATTACK?

Many al Qaeda members and Taliban fled to northwestern Pakistan's ungoverned ethnic Pashtun belt after U.S.-led soldiers ousted Afghanistan's Taliban government in 2001. From their sanctuaries there the militants have orchestrated insurgencies in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The United States and Afghanistan have pressed Pakistan to eliminate the sanctuaries. Apparently frustrated by Pakistan's inability to do so, the United States is hitting the militants itself.

HOW MANY ATTACKS?