Officials said the missile hit the upper storey of a building at around 4am, killing three Arab fighters, whose names could not be ascertained.
The upper storey comprised of just one room and the fighters were allegedly living there. According to officials, the ground floor had a small bakery, which was destroyed in the missile attack, but no one was present in the bakery at that hour.
“Three drone aircrafts are still hovering over my head,” said an eye witness while the bodies were shifted by militants to an undisclosed location.
AFP had earlier reported that four militants had been killed in the drone strike.
Statistics show that around 31 militants have been killed in drone strikes during the month of May, 2012. On Thursday four foreign fighters were killed in the Mir Ali sub-division of the agency.
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According to Conflict Monitoring Center 127 people have been killed in 18 drone attacks so far this year. In total 2788 people have been killed in 321 drone attacks sine 2004. Only a handful of them are known militants. Rest of them are unknown 'suspected' militants. Keep in mind that these 'suspected' militants include women and children too. One must remember 17 march 2011 drone attack when these so-called 'security officials' had claimed that 20 suspected militants were killed but it was revealed that actually a tribal Jirga was targeted and 40 tribesmen were butchered. Also keep in mind the poor 15 year old Tariq who was killed by drone attack just because he had participated in protest in Islamabad. Those who say that drones are killing militants are requested that please try to find out the truth behind this assassination campaign. mcpk.org and http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/ are too good sources to expose the reality
@Babloo: Exit strategy - long marches to keep the nation fit for the olympics.
Drones, Waziristan, Abottabad, Salala, 33 million docked for punishing Dr Afridi who co-operated in tracking Mr Bin Laden, ......
humiliation keeps piling. What next ? What's the exit strategy of Pakistan to avoid more humiliation ?
@Prakash: Well said - clear rational thinking!
Drones are bad for tourism.
Pakistanis should be outraged at America for destroying our tourism industry. I mean think about all of the Arab tourists who will now be discouraged from coming into our country now--think about all the money our "tourism" industry will lose now. But seriously, Pakistanis seem to get more angry when America kills Arab militants in our country than when these militants kill foreign NGO workers who work under great duress to help our people. It's a shame. I'm not the biggest fan of these drone strikes. But I loathe all foreigners who come into our country and take up arms against our government and people, regardless of how much I dislike our government--and regardless of how disappointed, at times, the Pakistani people make me.
Azab e elahi for killing innocent minorities by these arab and other south punjab and north waziristan militants
@salmaan aamir shahrukh khan: "Nuclear armed pakistani army has failed to defend tribal areas of pakistan from drone strike for many years now. Is it because we lack the technology and will to defend?"
It is a question of Niyat not Nakami. Army brought in and protected the terrorists from around the world with malafide intentions. There is a long history and they have been doing it for decades. Killer of Daniel Pearl (Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh), Founder of JeM (Masood Azhar), Dawood Ibrahim, Khalid Sheikh, OBL, Zawahiri, and many others, which include many terrorists who did not have anything to do with the Afghan war.
I must admit : I have not seen a state so throughly humiliated as Pakistan is being. The humiliation shall continue as Pakistan finds itself unable to extricate itself or unwilling to extricate itself from policies and national narrative that it has spun for itself for last 65 years. Propaganda often takes the highest toll on the state indulging in it.
It's Pakistan's responsibility to see that its territory is not used for attacking USA or any other country, or for taking on NATO forces in Afghanistan. If Pakistan fails to do so, US has the right to send drones, as a matter of self defense. Raising the question of sovereignty is superfluous. It's like asking US what it would rather choose - american drones violating the sovereignty of Pakistan, or the terrorists violating the sovereignty of US. I think the answer is obvious. If Pakistan cares about sovereignty, it should itself be hunting these militants.
@Ahsan Mlk: @mahakaalchakra: @Ansari: @SomeoneFromSomewhere: @Zaikam:
USA collects information from many sources and many countries. They get much information from the Talibans in Afghanistan also. So, they know for sure, at least 90% sure if not 100% sure, that these are terrorists. So, USA knows that these are terrorists even from miles away.
The often repeated claim that Drones kill innocents is totally false. This is the reason, no photograph of bodies of innocents killed in Drone attacks has ever been produced by Pakistan's Army or by the relatives of any of the innocents killed in Drone attacks. The associates of the terrorists simply take away the dead bodies of the terrorists killed. Yes, there may have been few that were killed were not actually terrorists. But these are not innocents neither. Why should they be in so close proximity with the Terrorists if they are innocents? They are involved with and assisting these terrorists.
@SomeoneFromSomewhere: You say: "Time is not far when boots will be on the ground…..they are already setting the stage!!" You are totally correct in your assumptions and I have mentioned the same in some of my earlier comments. Why should US apologize for the Salala incident when this was "testing the waters" and is bound to repeat in a larger scale ?
Finally, no one outside Pakistan cares even if there are few innocent collateral damages. These Drone attacks have made the rest of the World much safer place and there has not been any terror attacks in USA after 9/11 and no terror attacks in Europe in the recent times. No one cares for Pakistan's claim for sovereignty. Once the terrorists inside Pakistan are taken care of, Afghanistan will be peaceful.
Pakistan's Army underestimated the strength of USA. They thought that they can keep the terrorists in Pakistan and USA shall not bring its ground forces inside Pakistan as USA shall be more concerned of deaths of its soldiers. At that time Pakistan's Army did not know much of the capabilities of Drones. Hamid Gul and other so called defense experts were claiming few years ago in TV talk shows that USA cannot fight guerrilla warfare. They still quote and believe in centuries ago warfare history and quote from decades old history. USA has proved that it can effectively fight guerrilla warfare with drones.
@Ajamal:
When did Pakistan really have sovereignty? A land mass sustaining foreign aid since its birth does not have sovereignty.
Wasn’t the so called illusion of sovereignty not honored by the Taliban, OBL, Omar Abdullah, Zawaheri and didn’t Taliban foreign minister run around Pakistan freely giving media interviews?
There is an agreement to strike terrorist hide outs. Musharaff signed it, the current dispensation honored it so, go talk to them.
American Generals were in Islamabad last week. Probably increase in the frequency of drones strike is related to that. Miranshah is strong hold of Haqqani group and Pakistani Army has already said no to the operation so US has been asked to the job herself through drone strikes. There are some reports that 12 beheading of Pakistani soliders were a make up story by the Army to create a pro-operation atmosphere in the media.
who killed Pakistan most worst enemy Baitullah masud, badar mansoor and many more indeed by the drones so pakistan Army know that drones are useful so why they allowed it when there is drone attack majority of pushtun are happy
Pakistan should rather be paying to US for killing militants since Pak Army itself is not up to job.
believe me if the militants took the bodies to an undisclosed location they were foreign militants. If these were innocent civilians these bodies would have been laying there even now.
USA message to Pak establishment - "Drones : Coming to a militant hideout near you."
@Noise: "If the people killed were innocent tribesmen and not militants then what would America gain by wasting hundreds of dollars worth of missiles on innocent people? The only way America would gain some benefit of it’s killing militants. " Now, don't talk sense!
@Ahsan Mlk From 10k miles away they know they’re arabs even though the ‘militants took away the bodies to an undisclosed location’, but they dont know the dead ppl’s names. How the f then do they know they’re terrorists???*
The American probably have informers in Miranshah, they probably know who exacty they've killed but they haven't made the information of who they've killed available to the media.
If the people killed were innocent tribesmen and not militants then what would America gain by wasting hundreds of dollars worth of missiles on innocent people? The only way America would gain some benefit of it's killing militants. Miranshah is one of the Taliban's biggest bases, thats well known. Killing the Taliban there lightens the American's burden in Afghanistan. They cant just stand by doing nothing while the Taliban have a base where they can arm train and arm themselves with impunity.
Officials said the missile hit the upper storey of a building at around 4am, killing three Arab fighters, whose names could not be ascertained
From 10k miles away they know they're arabs even though the 'militants took away the bodies to an undisclosed location', but they dont know the dead ppl's names.
How the f* then do they know they're terrorists???
Interesting how they've gone from "suspected militants" to guaranteed "foreign militants"....Also it is interesting whenever there's a strike on these "militants", more militants are quick to reach there position and shift the bodies.
Pakistan must be a very rich and developed country. Now even Arabs are coming to Pakistan 'in search of job'!
@Usama: Self defense?
Drone strike against foreign terrorist who were living in Pakistan since birth.
Why don't America guard the borders so that so called terrorists couldn't go to Afghanistan.
@Imran Con , Dude, ur comments border on being gibberish in other cases too, so take a break & chill out!
If the identites were not know... how can the ones killed be terrist... ET should rephrase this article!!!
@Lobe: And how does AFP know minutes after the strike that they were militants when it is a no go area for any type of media? This cannot be done until independent media goes there & confirm the identity of the dead. Let us not follow their media blindly & confirm before publishing.
@Ansari: This news is reported by AFP, a foreign news organisation. Since when have you started believing foreign news?
@ Zaikam
From the report: “The house caught fire after missiles hit it and militants immediately cordoned off the area and were searching in the rubble,” a local tribesman told AFP, asking not to be named.
Air strikes and drone strikes have been so successful that the US has bought democracy, prosperity, education and development to FATA and Afghanistan! Today the Taliban stands defeated while the US is the victor!
Or at least this is false narrative that cheerleaders of the US would like to fool people with. More drone strikes, mean more retaliation attacks inside Pakistan.
@Zaikam: Its a report by AFP not tribune
Once more, it is proved that military and civil leadership is unable to save the citizens of pakistans. Innocent people of waziristan, all nation is responsible for what's going on with you guys. I totally understant why it results in more suicide attacks. Believe me, if my brother/sister gets hit in drone attack, I will kill every possible uniformed guy on this soil. I don't know, how long does it take for LIBERAL EXTREMISITS to accept the fact that Drone attacks are killing innocent people.
Miranshah militant hideouts need to be taken out of action. US should intensify its attacks against militants sheltered by Pak.
Drone a day keeps the terrorists dead.
The caption under the photo should say "This is the third drone strike since NATO summit where the PAK demand for end to the drone attack was ignored"
This is getting funny. Not because of the actual event taking place and its details. It's the implications of the timing and the out of the ordinary frequency.
all of a sudden there is a flurry of drones..........
well done USA, just wipe out these terrorists. pakistan can do nothing against them. just do it.
Jazak Allah!
Time is not far when boots will be on the ground.....they are already setting the stage!!
well done Ababeel.
So tribune knows for sure those for militants. Vow!
Yet another demonstration that the PK government and military are simply incapable of preventing such invasions of its territory. Then again, if a foreign helicopter can find its way unfettered to its garrison town, this is likely just a footnote.
need more of these strikes..
What to do Now...??