16 dead in a string of drone strikes in N Waziristan
Compounds of TTP, Gul Bahadur group, Haqqani network targeted.
MIRANSHAH/PESHAWAR:
A day after Pakistan formally protested to the United States over a string of “unlawful” drone strikes in its tribal regions, remotely-piloted aircraft carried out three sorties in North Waziristan Agency, killing over a dozen people.
Security officials confirmed to The Express Tribune that at least 16 suspected militants, including foreigners, were killed and 14 others wounded in three drone attacks in different locations of Shawal tehsil.
US drones fired a total of six missiles, two each on three separate compounds in the Dre Neshther (Mankai Gher), Thunda Dhera and Lawara Panga areas, one official said. “At least 15 suspected militants were killed in these strikes,” he added.
Another official confirmed the death toll to AFP and said it may rise further as more details of the attack emerged.
A resident of Shawal told The Express Tribune that they saw four to six pilotless aircraft flying overhead at the time of the attacks. Officials said the compounds targeted were used by militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Haqqani Network and Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.
A third security official confirmed the strikes and said the identities of the dead were not immediately clear.
“We are gradually getting information from the area of the new strikes, which is mountainous and covered by thick forest,” he said.
At least 30 people have been killed in seven drone strikes since the start of Eid on Saturday, and all of them took place in the Shawal region, which is some 60 kilometres from Miramshah – the main town in North Waziristan.
The latest strike came a day after US diplomat was summoned to the Foreign Office to formally protest the surge in drone attacks. (With additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2012.
A day after Pakistan formally protested to the United States over a string of “unlawful” drone strikes in its tribal regions, remotely-piloted aircraft carried out three sorties in North Waziristan Agency, killing over a dozen people.
Security officials confirmed to The Express Tribune that at least 16 suspected militants, including foreigners, were killed and 14 others wounded in three drone attacks in different locations of Shawal tehsil.
US drones fired a total of six missiles, two each on three separate compounds in the Dre Neshther (Mankai Gher), Thunda Dhera and Lawara Panga areas, one official said. “At least 15 suspected militants were killed in these strikes,” he added.
Another official confirmed the death toll to AFP and said it may rise further as more details of the attack emerged.
A resident of Shawal told The Express Tribune that they saw four to six pilotless aircraft flying overhead at the time of the attacks. Officials said the compounds targeted were used by militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Haqqani Network and Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.
A third security official confirmed the strikes and said the identities of the dead were not immediately clear.
“We are gradually getting information from the area of the new strikes, which is mountainous and covered by thick forest,” he said.
At least 30 people have been killed in seven drone strikes since the start of Eid on Saturday, and all of them took place in the Shawal region, which is some 60 kilometres from Miramshah – the main town in North Waziristan.
The latest strike came a day after US diplomat was summoned to the Foreign Office to formally protest the surge in drone attacks. (With additional input from AFP)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2012.