Drone strikes kill 13 in North Waziristan

Thursday, November 04, 2010

PESHAWAR:

Three US drones fired missiles into Taliban sanctuaries in north Waziristan just hours apart on Wednesday, killing 13 suspected (Taliban fighters), intelligence officials said.

The strikes were targeting terrorists holed up in the North Waziristan tribal region, which is dominated by Afghan terrorist groups launching attacks on US forces and its NATO allies across the border.

Washington wants Islamabad to launch a military offensive in the region, and so far has been relying on the missile strikes to take out the (Taliban fighters). The US believes that the Haqqani network, led by Jalaluddin Haqqani is the biggest threat to the allied forces in Afghanistan.

In the first attack, the unmanned aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle in the Qutab Khel area of Miranshah, the main town in the region. The slain insurgents were from Uzbekistan, the officials said.

In the second attack, missiles struck a house and a vehicle in Khaso Khel village near Mir Ali, killing four other suspected (Taliban fighters).

The third strike involved four missiles slamming into a vehicle in Pai Khel village in Datta Khel town, killing four more (Taliban fighters), the officials added. The two officials said their agents were still trying to gather more details. ap

US strike kills 12 Pakistanis

Press TV, Wed Nov 3, 2010 1:29PM

Three separate non-UN-sanctioned drone attack by the US has killed at least 12 people and wounded several others in troubled northwestern Pakistan.

According to Pakistani security officials, an unmanned American plane fired two missiles at a vehicle in the North Waziristan Agency. The vehicle was destroyed completely, leaving five people dead.

Hours later, another attack killed three people in the same volatile region. In the latest attack, a US drone fired missiles at a car killing four people.

The death toll is expected to rise as some of the injured are said to be in critical condition.

The US frequently carries out such attacks on Pakistan's tribal areas.

The US has recently increased the number of its air raids in northwest Pakistan. Washington claims the attacks target militants but many of the victims are civilians.

The aerial attacks, initiated by former US President George W. Bush, have been escalated under President Barack Obama.

The rising civilian death toll has fueled anti-American sentiments in Pakistan with Islamabad condemning the strikes and arguing that they violate the country's sovereignty.

JR/HGH/MMN

US drone strike kills five militants in Pakistan

Monday, November 1 03:23 am

The attack targeted militants sleeping at a compound in Haider Khel village of Mir Ali district in North Waziristan, 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of the region's main town of Miranshah.

"Five militants were killed," said a senior Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.

"The drone fired two missiles," he added.

"The compound belonged to local tribesman Ahmad Ali and had become a hub of militants' movement," a local security official said.

The identities of those killed were not immediately clear, he added.

The United States considers the northwestern tribal region of Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, a haven for Islamist militants who use the lawless area as a base to plan and carry out attacks on NATO and Pakistani forces.

The US has dramatically increased the frequency of drone strikes in the tribal belt in response to intelligence claims of a Mumbai-style terror plot to launch commando attacks on European cities.

More than 150 people have been killed since September 3, heightening tensions with Islamabad over reported US criticism of Pakistan's failure so far to launch a ground offensive in North Waziristan.

The United States does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its military and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the pilotless aircraft in the region.

Officials in Washington say drone strikes are highly effective in the war against Al-Qaeda and its Islamist allies, killing a number of high-value targets, including the Pakistani Taliban's founding father Baitullah Mehsud.

But the policy is unpopular among the Pakistan public who see military action on Pakistani soil as a breach of national sovereignty.

It has led to reprisals from militant groups who have targeted NATO supply convoys destined for Afghanistan.

NATO trucks attacked in NW Pakistan

Press TV, Mon Nov 1, 2010 8:21AM

The bulk of supplies and equipment required by foreign troops in Afghanistan is shipped through the Khyber border crossing. Three people have been wounded after Taliban militants armed with assault rifles fired at two NATO tankers in northwestern Pakistan.

“Around eight militants in two cars intercepted two oil tankers near the town of Pabbi on the Grand Trunk road and fired at them with Kalashnikovs,” local police official Hayat Khan told AFP on Monday.

“Two drivers and a helper were wounded and taken to hospital in Peshawar. Their condition is stable now,” Khan said, adding that oil leaked from the tankers but did not catch fire.

Intelligence officials in Peshawar also confirmed the attack and said the attackers fled the scene.

Pakistan shut the main Khyber border crossing to NATO supply vehicles heading to Afghanistan on September 30 for 11 days after a cross-border NATO helicopter assault claimed the lives of two Pakistani soldiers.

The bulk of supplies and equipment required by foreign troops in Afghanistan is shipped through the Khyber pass.

Scores of NATO supply vehicles were destroyed in gun and arson attacks while the Khyber crossing was shut, as Taliban militants stepped up efforts to disrupt the route and avenge non-UN-sanctioned US air strikes.

HSH/NN/HRF