North Waziristan: Drone strike kills seven suspected militants
Two-day death toll stands at 23.
PESHAWAR:
Nine suspected militants were killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan on Thursday.
A US drone attack on Thursday killed seven suspected militants in North Waziristan.
Five missiles were fired at a house in the Razmak area of the tribal region near the Afghan border, initial reports revealed.
The strike came a day after 16 people, including two fighters of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were killed in South Waziristan in the deadliest US drone strike in three months.
The CIA, the American spy agency, operates a covert drone programme to target suspected militants in countries like Pakistan. It is possibly the United States’ worst-kept secret even though it has opened up a debate about the legality of international state-sponsored killing of its adversaries.
The US is essentially deploying aerial robots to wage a war along the inaccessible border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The drones conduct intelligence and reconnaissance missions and fire missiles at the enemy.
Drone “pilots” at the CIA headquarters in Virginia move joy sticks around as they watch live video feeds of militants entering compounds, moving along winding mountain roads or planting bombs in northwest Pakistan. US officials have described drones as ‘a very effective tool’ for eliminating high-value enemies in northwest Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2011.
Nine suspected militants were killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan on Thursday.
A US drone attack on Thursday killed seven suspected militants in North Waziristan.
Five missiles were fired at a house in the Razmak area of the tribal region near the Afghan border, initial reports revealed.
The strike came a day after 16 people, including two fighters of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were killed in South Waziristan in the deadliest US drone strike in three months.
The CIA, the American spy agency, operates a covert drone programme to target suspected militants in countries like Pakistan. It is possibly the United States’ worst-kept secret even though it has opened up a debate about the legality of international state-sponsored killing of its adversaries.
The US is essentially deploying aerial robots to wage a war along the inaccessible border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The drones conduct intelligence and reconnaissance missions and fire missiles at the enemy.
Drone “pilots” at the CIA headquarters in Virginia move joy sticks around as they watch live video feeds of militants entering compounds, moving along winding mountain roads or planting bombs in northwest Pakistan. US officials have described drones as ‘a very effective tool’ for eliminating high-value enemies in northwest Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 18th, 2011.