Unmanned war: US drone kills six in N Waziristan
Latest strike takes place a day after PM’s speech at the UN calling for an end to the campaign.
According to the official, the suspected militants belonged to the Qari Abbas faction of the Punjabi Taliban. PHOTO: FILE
MIRANSHAH/ISLAMABAD:
A US drone strike killed at least six suspected militants in North Waziristan on Sunday, officials said.
The attack took place in the Dargamandi area, seven kilometres north of Miramshah, the headquarters of the North Waziristan Agency.
“Four US drones had been circling a militant compound around 11am,” a security official told The Express Tribune. “One of them launched two missiles at the target, killing six militants and injuring three others,” he added.
According to the official, the suspected militants belonged to the Qari Abbas faction of the Punjabi Taliban. He said the identities of those killed were not yet clear.
A senior security official confirmed the attack while talking to AFP, but said only three people were killed. An intelligence official in Miramshah put the toll at four.
Meanwhile, a curfew has been imposed in the North Waziristan Agency for an indefinite period.
The latest drone strike, which took place within 48 hours of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s speech at the UN, was strongly condemned by Pakistan. A statement released by the Foreign Office immediately after the strike, reaffirmed Islamabad’s stance that such attacks violate the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
In his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday, PM Nawaz had stressed that the use of armed drones in the border areas of Pakistan was counter-productive for the war on terror in addition to being a continued violation of the country’s territorial integrity.
He demanded the US cease such strikes, so that further casualties and suffering could be averted.
“Pakistan has repeatedly emphasised the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes… [the attacks] are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications,” it said.
“Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in inter-state relations,” the statement added. It cautioned that use of armed drones cast a negative impact on the mutual desire of both countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2013.
A US drone strike killed at least six suspected militants in North Waziristan on Sunday, officials said.
The attack took place in the Dargamandi area, seven kilometres north of Miramshah, the headquarters of the North Waziristan Agency.
“Four US drones had been circling a militant compound around 11am,” a security official told The Express Tribune. “One of them launched two missiles at the target, killing six militants and injuring three others,” he added.
According to the official, the suspected militants belonged to the Qari Abbas faction of the Punjabi Taliban. He said the identities of those killed were not yet clear.
A senior security official confirmed the attack while talking to AFP, but said only three people were killed. An intelligence official in Miramshah put the toll at four.
Meanwhile, a curfew has been imposed in the North Waziristan Agency for an indefinite period.
The latest drone strike, which took place within 48 hours of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s speech at the UN, was strongly condemned by Pakistan. A statement released by the Foreign Office immediately after the strike, reaffirmed Islamabad’s stance that such attacks violate the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
In his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday, PM Nawaz had stressed that the use of armed drones in the border areas of Pakistan was counter-productive for the war on terror in addition to being a continued violation of the country’s territorial integrity.
He demanded the US cease such strikes, so that further casualties and suffering could be averted.
“Pakistan has repeatedly emphasised the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes… [the attacks] are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications,” it said.
“Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in inter-state relations,” the statement added. It cautioned that use of armed drones cast a negative impact on the mutual desire of both countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2013.