Unmanned war: 6 militants killed in drone strike

All the casualties are Uzbeks, says official

BANNU:

Six militants were killed in a drone strike in Datta Khel, North Waziristan on Wednesday. A senior security official told The Express Tribune that the drone fired four missiles in Lowara Mandi area of the agency and all of those killed are Uzbek militants. The official said that the two others injured were also foreigners.

The area where the incident took place at around 6 am on a compound in Datta Khel, which is 65 kilometres away from agency headquarters Miramshah near the Afghan Paktia border.



American-sponsored drone strikes have picked up after a near six-month lull since the military offensive Operation Zarb-e-Azb began in North Waziristan. Since June 11, at least four drone strikes have been reported in the tribal areas.

On that day, two successive drone strikes reportedly killed around 16 people and injured few others in Miramshah, marking the year’s first unmanned aircraft attack. On June 18, at least six militants were killed in Miramshah and the next day, a drone strike targeting a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) compound killed 15 suspected militants in North Waziristan.

A couple of weeks later on July 10, drone strike in Datta Khel killed seven people and injured three others. Similarly, 24 suspected terrorists, including 18 foreign militants, were targeted and killed in an alleged militant compound in the same area on July 16.

A drone strike targeting a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) compound killed 15 suspected militants in North Waziristan on July 19.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th,2014.