Naheed Janjua
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According to international news agencies, and reports by Pakistani media, two suspected militants were killed on Thursday, Mar 2, by a U.S Drone strike near Pak-Afghan border. The pilot-less aircraft killed the two men while riding a motorbike in Kurram agency.
It is the first drone strike, inside Pakistani territory, since President Donald Trump took charge of the Oval office. Before this recent attack, there had been a lull for several months. Last drone strike was in May 2016, when a US pilotless plane fired Hellfire missiles to kill, the then Taliban leader, Mullah Mansour. This latest attack took place in the Sara Khwa area of Kurram agency. Attack on Mullah Mansour, had also eroded Taliban’s trust on Pakistani agencies whom they suspected of collaborating with the Americans- that further reduced Pakistan’s ability to bring Taliban to a negotiation table; something which both Washington and Kabul expect of Pakistan.
Read Also: Lahore Bleeds: Is India taking Revenge? Global Village Space
Haji Zamin Hussain, a local elder said, “A drone missile struck the motorcycle which caught on fire and then exploded.”
Most international news agencies have not identified the dead but Pakistani newspapers like Express Tribune have identified the dead bodies as Qari Abdullah Saibari, an Afghan Taliban commander for Khost province of Afghanistan, and Shakirullah a member of the same group. Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to United States, tweeted “Taliban confirm their senior commander died in the first US drone strike in Pakistan under Trump”
Where is Kurram Agency?
Kurram agency is the part of FATA (Federally administered tribal areas); a region in Pakistan which historically lacked firm legal structure since the British era. Its autonomous nature and lack of formal administrative structure turned it into a safe haven for the Al Qaeda and Taliban cliques. This has been the hub of Islamist insurgency for more than a decade, after 9/11. Pakistan army, that executed several operations in tribal agencies of FATA after 2004, had launched its first major military operation named Koh-i-Sufaid in this area, after the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Around 5000 troops were involved in operation Koh-i-Sufaid; 130 militants were killed and about 13,000 families were displaced.
In 2011, the operation in Kurram agency was said to be finished, clearing Kurram. The then Army Chief Gen. Asfhaq Parvez Kayani visited the region and declared it free of malefactors.
Before the Pakistan army’s first major operation in Kurram agency a prominent analyst Imtiaz Gul once said, “I think Kurram had become a black spot for the Pakistan Army.”
Kurram agency holds importance for all three: Pakistan, Afghanistan & the US. It shares a border with several Afghan provinces resulting in the large Afghan refugee population in the area. Kurram agency is the only tribal agency with 50% of its population belonging to Shia school of thought; the violence in the region also reflects its exploding sectarian tensions.
to read full story: Trump’s First Drone Strike inside Pakistan: What does it mean?
It is the first drone strike, inside Pakistani territory, since President Donald Trump took charge of the Oval office. Before this recent attack, there had been a lull for several months. Last drone strike was in May 2016, when a US pilotless plane fired Hellfire missiles to kill, the then Taliban leader, Mullah Mansour. This latest attack took place in the Sara Khwa area of Kurram agency. Attack on Mullah Mansour, had also eroded Taliban’s trust on Pakistani agencies whom they suspected of collaborating with the Americans- that further reduced Pakistan’s ability to bring Taliban to a negotiation table; something which both Washington and Kabul expect of Pakistan.
Read Also: Lahore Bleeds: Is India taking Revenge? Global Village Space
Haji Zamin Hussain, a local elder said, “A drone missile struck the motorcycle which caught on fire and then exploded.”
Most international news agencies have not identified the dead but Pakistani newspapers like Express Tribune have identified the dead bodies as Qari Abdullah Saibari, an Afghan Taliban commander for Khost province of Afghanistan, and Shakirullah a member of the same group. Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to United States, tweeted “Taliban confirm their senior commander died in the first US drone strike in Pakistan under Trump”
Where is Kurram Agency?
Kurram agency is the part of FATA (Federally administered tribal areas); a region in Pakistan which historically lacked firm legal structure since the British era. Its autonomous nature and lack of formal administrative structure turned it into a safe haven for the Al Qaeda and Taliban cliques. This has been the hub of Islamist insurgency for more than a decade, after 9/11. Pakistan army, that executed several operations in tribal agencies of FATA after 2004, had launched its first major military operation named Koh-i-Sufaid in this area, after the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Around 5000 troops were involved in operation Koh-i-Sufaid; 130 militants were killed and about 13,000 families were displaced.
In 2011, the operation in Kurram agency was said to be finished, clearing Kurram. The then Army Chief Gen. Asfhaq Parvez Kayani visited the region and declared it free of malefactors.
Before the Pakistan army’s first major operation in Kurram agency a prominent analyst Imtiaz Gul once said, “I think Kurram had become a black spot for the Pakistan Army.”
Kurram agency holds importance for all three: Pakistan, Afghanistan & the US. It shares a border with several Afghan provinces resulting in the large Afghan refugee population in the area. Kurram agency is the only tribal agency with 50% of its population belonging to Shia school of thought; the violence in the region also reflects its exploding sectarian tensions.
to read full story: Trump’s First Drone Strike inside Pakistan: What does it mean?
