WASHINGTON (Online) Missile attacks by US drone aircraft in northwest Pakistan since 2004 have killed as many as 1,216 people, one third of them civilians, according to a report by a Washington-based think tank. The unmanned aircraft based in neighbouring Afghanistan have carried out 114 raids in the past six years, killing up to 849 militants, the report by the New American Foundation said. Since Jan 1, drones have attacked Taliban based in tribal areas 18 times, it said. The minimum number of people who likely died in the total attacks is 834, of whom 549 were thought to have been militants. The data was collated from media reports. This year, drone attacks are believed to have killed Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, a Taliban commander Mohammad Qari Zafar, and Sheikh Mansoor, an Egyptian-Canadian al-Qaeda leader, the report entitled 'The Year of the Drone' said.