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Drone attack: US strikes kill 10 militants in S Waziristan
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Drone strike targeting Haqqanis kills 12 in Kurram
Residents say local tribesmen were among the dead.
Intelligence agencies set to define the parameters of anti-terror cooperation.
PARACHINAR:
Targeting the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, US missiles killed 12 people in lower Kurram Agency in two strikes just minutes apart on Monday, security officials said.
The attack was the second in a region plagued by sectarian violence and militancy, where Haqqani loyalists are believed to have fled as US pressure mounts on Pakistan to launch an offensive on their headquarters in Waziristan.
The area where this attack occurred is said to be populated mostly by Sunnis and located in the northwest of Sadda Town towards the agency headquarters Parachinar. A US drone fired three missiles on a vehicle, an official said. However, officials put the death toll at seven.
Those killed were said to be affiliated with the Haqqani network, however, local sources said the deceased were local tribesmen.
This was the first drone attack carried out outside North and South Waziristan agencies this year. The first strike, also in lower Kurram Agency, was on February 17, 2009, which killed at least 26 militants. In 2010, most of the drone attacks were carried out in North Waziristan, particularly in Datta Khel tehsil, a stronghold of the Haqqani network. Earlier this year, a peace deal was concluded between the warring Shia and Sunni tribesmen in February, which was reportedly mediated by the Haqqani network.
Kurram has become a safe haven for the Haqqani network since the terror group brokered a peace deal between the besieged Shia and Sunni tribesmen. The Haqqanis want to use Kurram as an alternate route into Afghanistan. Siraj Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani network who is a top al Qaeda and Taliban leader, and other Haqqani network commanders have sought shelter in Kurram to avoid the US Predator strikes.
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP AND THE LONG WAR JOURNAL
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2011.
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What did our Army achieve that its Image gets dented? Every war it fought, is lost (the last one being Kargil). & had anyone been held accountable? How many have been courtmarshalled?
Our Army is unable to fight even the Taliban that it helped create at the behest of the Taliban. We are told that our one soldiers equals 10 Indian soldiers & yet we are nowhere close to winning the war against the Taliban. When our General says “We broke their back”, they break our P3C Orions in our base. We remind the Talibs to kick when you cant fight them?
Why fight when they are sure they won
t win? Let our Army run the bakeries, marriage halls, real estate, Golfcourses, steel mills, while every Talib or US Helicopters swoop in to the Army Base to capture their most wanted.s (1948, 1965, 1971, Kargil), Losing half the country,Our Army/ISI Hall of Fame:
1. War
2. Military Dictatorship (Ayub, Gen Zia, Mush etc),
3. Recent events (Bhutto killings, Lal Masjid, OBL & Abbottabad Raid, GHQ Raid, PNS Raid, 26/11, Journo`s killings, Marriot Killings).
To all these events, No One has been Arrested and Convicted by any court. Our Policy of Strategic Depth has killed more Pakistani
s than our Enemies.t half the country. My heart bleeds for the country & Jinnah would have tears in his eyes had he been alive.RecommendOfcourse, our politicians also lack vision and fare slightly better than Army, that they didn
may allah bless the drones and keep them functioning.they are getting rid of the islamic fascists our own weak govt. is too scared to take action against.The islamic terrorists have murdered thousands of our people yet our govt. is hesitant to launch an all out attack against the forces of religious bigotry and hate.it’s time we took action against the madrassas serving as the breeding grounds for future terrorists.we have to fight these religious savages before they destroy our country any more.Recommend
Is Shamsi airbase is in Pakistan ?Recommend
The news report says “suspected militants.” Really? How terrible. They must have been small-time villagers eating breakfast and the Americans started firing away on the innocent group. Now they will strut about proudly like roosters and exclaim “mission accomplished” and Obama will honor them with “purple hearts.”
Salams to all dead and living villagers.Recommend
It may sound unbelievable to some, but the truth is that Pakistan can EASILY become a safe and prosperous state if the policy makers use some common sense. But as the saying goes, ‘Vinaash kaalay viprit buddhi’, meaning, when bad time comes, the brain gets ruined first.Recommend
Terrorists should be chased and pursued to eternity till they become humans.Recommend
6 * 72 =432
jannat market is booming . .Recommend
Inna lilahe Wa inna Ilaye he RajioonRecommend
Shame on those who support drone strikes..they are not Muslims. If Gen. Kiyani wants to repair the damage from the may 2 incident, shoot down the drones. Otherwise its all talk. The US called the taliban terrorists for 10 years, and not it is talking to them..why..because the Afghans aka Taliban did not sell out and defended their nation.Recommend
Media and Journalists should be given access to FATA and Tribal Areas, then only we’ll know what is truth, right now we only have 1 source (Americans), and they will never say a drone strike has killed civilians.Recommend
US reign of terror continues……Recommend
A gift from our friend USA on our support and collaboration in so called WAR AGAINST TERROR. Thank you Recommend
@Al:
No need to shoot the drones, first place you can close the airbase provided.Recommend
@Al:
who are u to deciede who is a muslim???? are you later going to decide who is good and bad and then even later who dies and who lives.Shame on you.this sort of intolerance is what got us into this position in the first place.Recommend
@pkpolitics Your comment implying that the information on drone attacks comes the USA and can’t be trusted in incorrect. In fact the USA doesn’t comment on drone attacks and all of the news articles and discussion originate within Pakistan – not the USA. When articles say “militants” that term comes from Pakistani’s not American’s.Recommend
khas kam jahaan pak (less the filth cleaner the place)Recommend
long live Amerika..roast all of them..they donot deserve to live in civilised world..no mercy for these mad animals.. Recommend
@naveed anwar: I wish it does not happen but had ur closest and innocent family member been killed in drown then you could never say that may allah bless drowns. There have been hundreds of drown strikes and result is that only two to three strikes could kill terrorists (Reportedly).
Mr. Naveed you have no proof and no evidence of success of drowns. The success rate of drowns is extremely low. Ask those families who lost there loved one’s in drowns.Recommend
@ZUBAIR:
Come on man. “Drones” is right there in the title. How can you call them “drowns” six times?
Oh, and yeah. Listen to Cautious. Nothing about drone kill counts and the labels of the dead are reported in American news media. They rarely mention them, if at all. Everything you hear comes from your area of the world and it the source probably varies widely.Recommend
Arial spray of pesticides on mosquitoes :) What about breeding larvae and pupae … ?? Recommend