Drone strike kills four suspected militants in North Waziristan
The remotely piloted aircraft targeted an abandoned girls' high school building used by militants in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, the officials and witnesses said. Three militants were wounded.
"We intercepted internal conversation of the militants asking for arranging four coffins for the slain men in the drone attack. We don't know about their identity and nationality but those living in the girls' school were mostly Arabs," a security official said.
A local resident, Haji Niamat Khan, said more than two dozen militants were living in the school when it was attacked.
The last drone strike, on March 30, killed four suspected militants and wounded three in the same town of Miranshah, a known hotbed for Pakistan Taliban and foreign militants.
The strikes are a major stumbling block in restoring ties with Washington, badly frayed after an inadvertent cross-border attack by Nato aircraft on November 26 last year killed 24 Pakistani troops.
The United States says the strikes in Pakistan's unruly northwestern tribal regions are very accurate and there is minimal collateral damage.
In a recent interview, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that although Pakistan had demanded an immediate cessation of drone attacks, the US has not complied.
Imran Khan condemns drone strike
While condemning the recent drone strike, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan called upon the government to respond to this assault in accordance to the parliamentary resolutions against drone attacks.
“Drone attacks are a violation of the international law and Pakistan’s sovereignty. We have to get out of this so-called war on terror, which has killed over 40,000 Pakistanis. This war is not our war and it is destroying the very fabric of the country,” Khan stressed.
COMMENTS (66)
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@American: Prison break: Taliban(TTP, Raymond Davis employer backed) attack Bannu jail, nearly 400 inmates escape http://tribune.com.pk/story/365064/prison-break-militants-attack-bannu-jail-over-900-inmates-freed/
@American: Ramy Zamzam Waqar Khan Umar Farooq Aman Hassan Yemer Ahmed Minni
@Moise: Who ran away ? -- Guys court martialled -- Guys caught in petty crimes like stealing, and serious crimes like murder. I ask you again, and this time don't evade: "Name one guy that has been charged with terrorism, and convicted in a proper court". -- For convicting a confessed murderer that committed a murder (of Punjab Governor) openly in front of witnesses, the judge had to leave the country and become incognito within 24 hours after passing judgement. AND you still harp on bringing terrorists to justice and trial ?
@gp65: Catch them and put on trial. This is the only just way. Trigger happy drone operator who is judge, jury and executioner has no check and balance, if this is not barbarism, I don't know what is.
I leave you with the quote to ponder upon:
The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do —— The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, p. 51.
@American: Who do you think ran away when there was a prison break of 500 prisoners recently?
@Moise: "CIA definition of miltant is anyone having a gun. In tribal areas everyone carries a gun for cultural and security reasons. This is the reason there is no name of supposed militants in news reports because there is not intel just point and shoot. If there is intel, you put them in court. I"
I disagree with you on 3 counts: 1. It is not just CIA but your own security people who are saying that this school was occupied by Uzbek and Tajik militants (please read the full article). 2. In military operations conducted by Pak army, there are bombings from helicopter which are definitely not precise. But drone technology is different, it pinpoints the target. Usually the only civilian fall-out during drones (and there were none in this strike) are those family members used by militants as human shields. 3. The notion that if there was intelligence they should be presented to the court , stretches credibility. Your own ISI has had no success in getting conviction against militant in your courts. They said that to justify their stance during Missing Persons case. In this case, even the arrest is difficult since US boots are not allowed i Pakistan and Pak army does not want to arrest Afghan Taliban and Haqqanis, so who will arrest them and present them to the court?
@Raj - USA: Only purpose is achieving the Moral Objective.
Achieving Moral objective through Military means is certainly a very attainable and moral target I guess.
There will always be bearded men with a gun in abandoned buildings or mountains of FATA.;So on with the Drones till 3015.
But for the men who derive sadistic pleasure( intellectualizing their stance) from killings of people, war could have been abolished from the surface of the earth.
@Moise: Please let us know the name of a "single" terrorist that has been judicially convicted and put behind bars in Pakistan. Either law & order doesn't exist, OR there are no terrorists in Pakistan, and therefore the rest of the world is in a conspiracy against Pakistan. As they say in USA....wake up and smell the coffee man !
Us has refused to give drone tech to Pakistan. Therefore they don't trust Pakistan. Drone strikes r only happening in north waziristan, where there is no army no govt writ. Anyone's guess is as good as mine, US is operating unilaterally and our news papers r working against Pak army by saying Pakistani intelligence is involved
army and government will never shoot down drones because we are the slave of america and how pakistan army dare to shoot down the drones ..........when army see american aircraft they salute to it so how it possible dear.......we are slave nation..............no thinking nationally and internationally ..........sorry to you .............sorry to those family who's relatives are killed in drones.............
So what are terrorist doing in girls school?
@gp65: CIA definition of miltant is anyone having a gun. In tribal areas everyone carries a gun for cultural and security reasons. This is the reason there is no name of supposed militants in news reports because there is not intel just point and shoot. If there is intel, you put them in court. It is sad to see drone attack enthusiasts justifying extra-judicial murders.
Another Drone and our officials still seeking apology. What a shame.
how do you know that they are terrorists.............hnnn??
In defense of many of the earlier postings: the details of this story emerged over several hours, and the article was updated with new information and details. Even the title of this very article changed during the unfolding. This taught me an important lesson about reading comment threads. Sometimes, what you read is not what people who had left earlier comments were reading at the time they commented. I hope this information helps some of you put the earlier comments into context.
@rk: There is no school. On any day.
@elementary: "For the benefit of naives like me perhaps you would also like to tell us the final military objective/Goal of these strikes ......................"
Your basic assumptions are wrong. There is no Military Objective. Only purpose is achieving the Moral Objective. It is the expectation that one should have a moral obligation to wipe out the terrorists from its land. It may also be a religious obligation as Pakistan sees everything from the religious angle although no terrorists from any minority religion were ever found to be involved in such terror activities within Pakistan. After all, the war on terror started over 10 years ago. Pakistan undertook certain responsibilities and has failed to deliver on those and in fact has been working against the promises it has made. Drone strikes started only 4-5 years ago. Why were the terrorists not eliminated before US started its first Drone strike ? In its quest for extraterritorial objectives, Pakistan has ceded its own land to the terrorists. Nationalism and Patriotism are seriously lacking amongst many, particularly the religious parties, and even in the Army that probably has more of its personnel in commercial ventures and political arena than in the battlefield.
@Roflcopter: there is school on sundays...??
No one controls North Waziristan. Your esteem army has not exerted its power to take complete control of the agency due to justifiable reasons. Can anyone inform my poor soul who has given visas to Uzbeks, and Tajiks living there? So NW is no man’s land.
@peace seeker: @Roflcopter: The report says "abandoned girls high school". Why was it abandoned...? Because Pakistani Militants don't want girls/women to be educated. Are you so blinded by your hatred for America that you cannot see the damage by Terrorists ?
@Pakistan politics: Even the establishment has become Liberal by granting India MFN.
@Mj: For the benefit of naives like me perhaps you would also like to tell us the final military objective/Goal of these strikes ,achieving which we will finally see the end of these abominable strikes which give you the opportunity to display your exraordianry prowess and understanding of miiltary warfare and interstate policies.
In Musharraf's time when the first drone was to be fired, it should have been stopped. Today they will not stop and you do not have what it takes to make them stop. - end of story.
@Moise: "Who decides it’s militant? Drone operator?" The drone operators act on intelligence received from local people. Incidentally if you had read the entire article, you would have also read the following :
"“We intercepted internal conversation of the militants asking for arranging four coffins for the slain men in the drone attack. We don’t know about their identity and nationality but those living in the girls’ school were mostly Arabs,” a security official said. A local resident, Haji Niamat Khan, said more than two dozen militants were living in the school when it was attacked."
"suspected militants".... Express Tribune,, shame on you for protecting foreign interest....
@salman: Because our army refuses to, or is unable to. Do er have armed drones in our arsenal? Do you think out antiquated air force had the precision to deliver ordinance that kills only terrorists? No it doesn't. So let's applaud the American tax payer for trying to deliver us from this evil. Thankyou for fighting our war, Ametica.
i dont understand the sick mindset of these people who support drone strikes. Even if their were militants in the school it is our army who should be taking action not NATO forces. It is our country to protect we cant just allow any other country to just violate.
@Pakistan politics:
Now half baked potatoes will start screaming again .. What does Liberals have to do with these stories? Liberalism has nothing to do with your religion .. any one can be a liberal even a pious Muslim or Christian or Atheist. Who is a liberal? 1. Favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs. 2. Noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform. 3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism. 4. Favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties. 5. Favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
These people have destroyed thousands of schools in our area but none of you seem to be interested in that but when it comes to US eliminating these criminals all of you start jumping in your seats ... Just a couple of days ago there was an attack in KPK on a school where young children died but most of you would rather want this cancer to eat away our country than appreciate someone's effort to cleanse this mess.
News item clearly states:
“We intercepted internal conversation of the militants asking for arranging four coffins for the slain men in the drone attack. We don’t know about their identity and nationality but those living in the girls’ school were mostly Arabs,” a security official said.
A local resident, Haji Niamat Khan, said more than two dozen militants were living in the school when it was attacked."
Militants are asking for four coffins for slain men, mostly Arabs and local resident Haji Niamat Khan confirms two dozen militants were living in there.
**Patriotic Pakistanis commenting against the American action are in fact the hidden enemies of Pakistan.
Drone strikes and the missiles are not cheap. Also the intelligence gathering also costs lot of money and resources. Why would USA waste their money on killing innocent children and also make their intelligence gathering look amateurish ?**
Can ET shed some light on why and when this girls school was abandoned? When is school for these girls going to reopen or additional strikes are required to make these illegal occupier evaporate? "abandoned girls school" tells a lot about the future economic activity in this area.
Killer Killer ,USa is killer... Invader Invader ,USa is Invader... Terrorist Terrorist ,USa is Terrorist...
Taliban have destroyed hundreds of girls schools in KP and FATA but I have yet to see rage against that expressed on ET. Why is US attacking militants so radioactive ?
Grossman went back empty-handed. This is the American way of responding.
It's pretty obvious what these militants do; first they bomb the schools in KP province forcing the children out and then occupy those same buildings to plan their violent activities. The US is doing exactly what the Pak army should be doing. And it is Pakistan's war, it is in Pakistan's own interest to get rid of these extremists and their extremism, when will be realize this? stop living in denial and in conspiracy theories
shame on govt and army for not protecting our civilians. the deads must be civilians as americans will not kill their own strategic assets to destablize pakistan.
@ishrat salim: your post is brilliant! very insightful. If what you say is true, it sounds like there is short-term benefit for Pak with such an approach - but won't it come at the cost of damaging an important long-term relationship between Pak and U.S.?
Now this is really not acceptable. . .American never care about any law, any humanitarian rights.
@Bhindian: please accept my apologies for last post. I confused your comments with those of moise. This was unintentional.
@bhindian: you asked who made the determination, and then offered a suggestion. I was simply pointing out to you that the answer to that goes beyond your suggestion. As this story unfolds, it looks like eye witnesses on the ground are also shedding some light on the circumstances. Look at the updated version of this very story.
Justice delivered - the Pakistanis don't lift a finger to stop the Taliban from shutting down schools for girls but the American's can at least prevent them from using them as a military base.
@curious outsider, a "suspected" militant is a "suspected" militant whether "Pakistani intelligence officials" are the ones making that "determination" or US officials.
@moise: according to reporting that actually uses sources, it apparently looks like "Pakistani intelligence officials" are the ones making that determination. I refer you back to the Dawn article, and now the business recorder.
@curious outsider: Who decides it's militant? Drone operator?
@FactCheck, "suspected militants" doesn't really help. Even you could be a suspected militant
Make that four militants (not school kids)! Look how the title of this article has changed. It used to say "US drone strike targets school in N Waziristan" - now it reads "...four suspected militants..."
It helps to read more than the Headline. What does "abandoned girls school” mean to those who is screaming against killing Terrorists.
As long as Pakistan refuses to take action against Terrorists, drone attacks will continue. Go ahed shoot a drone down and see what happens. Hell, why not shoot all of them down?
Bhindian, true lol
@Mj, sure ;), as for the school, I bet it was being used by "suspected" militants. oh and it's not like US has not deliberately killed childrens before.
@Roflcopter: It was intentional. I am glad you picked it up. Disregarding the irony, which is more likely: that America would target a school full of children, or that it's an abandoned building that is now being used by militants?
From Dawn:
US drone strike kills two in Miramshah
Two missiles hit an abandoned girls schools in the town of Miramshah in the North Waziristan tribal region, killing two unidentified militants.– AFP (File Photo)
PESHAWAR: Pakistani intelligence officials say a US missile strike in northwest Pakistan has killed two militants.
The officials say two missiles hit an abandoned girls schools in the town of Miramshah in the North Waziristan tribal region, killing two unidentified militants.
Sunday’s strike comes as the US is trying to rebuild its relationship with Pakistan, which opposes the missile attacks.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The Dawn article that says its an abandoned school, and that the attack killed two militants, cites Pak intel officials.. - Who does this article cite? Look closely - no one but the ET.
Shame on you that jump to conclusions.
@Mj, "Maybe your militant friends should not hide in schools" "Let’s wait for the details to come out before jumping to conclusions." Oh the irony.
I didn't see any children killed. Bravo US please continue to rid us of these terrorists.
The other side of the sovereignty-coin requires a nation-state to take responsibly for what goes on within its borders.
Never thought US could go that low in enemity against muslims that even the school childern would be killed through drones.this strike is a slap on the face of so called pakistani liberals who keep preaching on face book and twitter that only millitants are being targeted by drones.this strike has proven that terrorism is caused by US barbarism.talibans are only victim of CIA terrorism.
Dawn is reporting it as an ABANDONED school, and the attack killed two militants. Maybe the same type militants that force girls' schools closed. Dawn also makes no mention of civilian casualties.
@Pakistan politics: @Baloch: @Roflcopter: Maybe your militant friends should not hide in schools. Let's wait for the details to come out before jumping to conclusions.
Now where are the liberals hiding, what makes them think that their families wont join other forces to take revenge of their children death, They are not terrorists
Why does not Hina Rabbani Khar order the drones to be shot down? To the best of my knowledge the drones fly at quite low speeds and it should not be difficult for the all-powerful Pakistan army and air force to shoot them down.
Allah curse on those who support drone strikes, another lesson to our commanders and politicians who are in love with US, for god sake do not resume Supplies and shoot these birds, Allah is watching u and u will be held accountable on the day of judgment
now they're killing innocent children in school
So, who is the terrorist? who is against the education?