US Drone strikes in Pakistan are illegal under international law.

[Patriot]

Suspected US strike in Pakistan kills 10 militants
16 May 2009

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) — A suspected US missile strike killed 10 militants in a Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border on Saturday, security officials said.

"It was a drone strike on a compound, where militants were staying," a security official said on condition of anonymity.

The compound was located in Khaisur village, 30 kilometres (18 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal region, known as a hub for Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.

Confirming the strike and raising the death toll from four, another security official said, "Two missiles were fired from the drone, killing 10 militants."

He said there were two foreigners among the 10 killed while the rest were local militants.

It was not immediately clear whether any high value targets were killed.

The strike was the second suspected drone attack in the past four days. Eight militants were killed in an earlier strike on Tuesday in South Waziristan tribal region.

There have been more than 40 such strikes since August 2008, which have killed more than 380 people.

US President Barack Obama has adopted a new strategy to defeat Islamist extremists, putting Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda.

Pakistan publicly opposes the attacks, saying they are counter-productive and violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace.

The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region.

Pakistan has called for military equipment and drones in order to better attack the extremists itself, and thus save the government from the furious anti-US backlash that officials say weakens Islamabad's rule.

US officials said the United States was not ready to hand over Predators to the Pakistani government. Washington has, however, started sharing with Islamabad surveillance data collected by drones flying over Pakistan, top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen said Thursday.

Under heavy US pressure, Pakistan is pressing a ground and air assault against Taliban militants in three districts of North West Frontier Province, which unlike the tribal areas comes under direct government control.

More than 940 Taliban militants and 45 soldiers have been killed so far in the ongoing military operation launched in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat districts since April 26.

Pakistan rejects criticism that it does not do enough to counter Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants holed up on the Afghan border.

Pakistan's rugged tribal regions have been wracked by violence since becoming a stronghold for hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels who fled across the border to escape the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.


Source: AFP

Is it really necssaray to use this smiley and your ******** Flag here?I am all for killing of Alqaida and Talibans but there is colletrial damage too so you should not use these kind of smilies.
(Written from Mobile so excuse the spelling mistakes)

 

[IceCold]

Missile strikes on daily bases and the silence of the GOP over the issue is pathetic. Infact it seems that both the army and government has in fact reached to a mutual understanding with the Americans about letting these drone attacks continue.

 

[roadrunner]

Missile strikes on daily bases and the silence of the GOP over the issue is pathetic. Infact it seems that both the army and government has in fact reached to a mutual understanding with the Americans about letting these drone attacks continue.

True, the GoP is spineless, but then again it can't do much. However, it's proving itself to be extra spineless by failing to dent the flow of missile strikes, when it supposedly has "control" over the missile strikes. Pretty laughable really.

It just causes people who aren't Taliban, to become Taliban, whatever "Taliban" means. Currently, "Taliban" is anyone who dares flash a gun. I'd be pretty tired of this and the GoP actually if i were living there.

 

[Metallic]

***UPDATE***

40 militants die in NWA drone strikes
17 MAY 2009

Senior Taliban commanders among those killed in deadliest US attacks so far

By Mushtaq Yusufzai, Mumtaz Khan & Haji Mujtaba

PESHAWAR/MIRAMSHAH: Forty people, most of them militants, were killed and several others critically injured in two successive attacks by US spy planes at Khaisur village of Mirali subdivision of North Waziristan Agency on Saturday morning.

“It is the biggest-ever loss for the Mujahideen in the tribal areas so far,” militant sources claimed.

Tribal sources said two US spy planes were seen flying over Khaisur village, 20 kilometres south of the Mirali subdivision, the second major town of militancy-wrecked North Waziristan tribal region.

The drones fired two missiles at a double-cabin pick-up parked close to a mud-house allegedly used as a hideout by the Taliban militants.

According to sources, the militants had just sat in the vehicle and were due to travel to some undisclosed location when they came under attack around 8:00 am.

Soon after the attack, other militants staying at the building arrived and started rescue work. “They were recovering bodies of the slain militants when the drone fired two more missiles, almost 12 minutes after the first attack. It was terrible as almost all the Taliban involved in rescue work were targeted,” stated a local militant commander based in Mirali.

Pleading anonymity, he said majority of the militants killed in the attack were local tribal militants, and their bodies were badly burnt and split into pieces.

“We lost very trained and sincere friends. Some of them were very senior Taliban commanders and had taken part in successful actions in Afghanistan. Bodies of most of them were beyond recognition,” the militant commander said in a choked voice.

He vowed they would take revenge on the American forces in Afghanistan for the killing of the Taliban.

“The Pakistan government has failed to protect us against the US aggression and, therefore, we will soon teach a lesson to the US troops in Afghanistan,” the enraged militant commander maintained.

He said the militants had made all arrangements for their trip to Afghanistan and fight against the US-led forces there. The militant commander said a few of the victims were Arab fighters.

He denied reports that senior al-Qaeda operatives were among the victims of the drone attacks. “It’s the biggest-ever loss of Mujahideen in any drone attack so far,” he claimed.

The militant commander admitted that US spies had entered their movement and that’s why the Taliban were now suffering heavy losses in drone attacks in North and South Waziristan tribal regions.

“There is no question for strange people to enter our centres. It is impossible without the involvement of people having close liaison with the Taliban,” said the Taliban commander.

Tribal sources in Mirali said the Taliban fighters cordoned off the venue after the first attack and did not allow the villagers to see what had happened to them. However, after the second attack, nobody was there in Khaisur village to retrieve the bodies of the slain militants. Even villagers were reluctant to go there and take part in rescue work.

It was later when the drones disappeared, the militants started arriving from the adjoining villages in pick-ups and cars in large numbers at the spot.

The villagers said some of the militants could not control their emotions and cried over the loss of senior fighters.

A government official in Mirali confirmed the drone attack in Khaisur village but said he did not know about the exact losses of the militants.

“Taliban always cordon off an area and don’t allow even local tribesmen to visit the targeted building,” the official said and declined to be named.

It is pertinent to mention here that Taliban in the tribal areas, particularly North and South Waziristan tribal regions where they are in full control, had killed dozens of people on charges of spying on the militants for the US forces in Afghanistan.

They usually behead the alleged US spies and then place their bodies at busy squares or roadside. However, they never punished their own people on charges of spying for the US forces.

It is astonishing that despite a full-scale military operation launched by Pakistan against the Taliban in the Malakand region, the US forces are yet to stop targeting the tribal areas while the drone strikes have been fuelling anger among the people against the Pakistan government and the armed forces.

AFP adds: Other intelligence officials put the death toll as high as 28, saying the dead were mostly local militants from a local Wazir tribe who had been preparing to leave for neighbouring Afghanistan to carry out attacks.




Source: 40 militants die in NWA drone strikes

 

[Metallic]

Suspected US strike in Pakistan kills 3 Islamist militants : officials
14 June 2009

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) – A suspected US missile strike targeting Islamist militants killed three people in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

The attack hit in the Laddha region of South Waziristan, where Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion are holed up, plotting attacks on Western targets.

"A drone attack targeting a militant vehicle killed three people in Mardar Algad area," said Amir Mohammad Khan, local administration official in Laddha.

"There is a training camp close to this area," he added.

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

Khan said that Taliban militants -- currently waging a bloody insurgency in Pakistan -- had surrounded the area of the attack and security forces were not able to gather any more information about the missile strike.

Pakistani security forces have also recently bombed militant hideouts in lawless South Waziristan as they escalate a seven-week campaign to crush Taliban militants in the northwest of the nuclear-armed nation.

An intelligence official in the area confirmed the missile attack.

"A drone targeted militant vehicles in the Mardar Algad area," he told AFP. "One of the double-cabin pick-up trucks was totally destroyed. Preliminary reports say that three militants were killed."

Pakistan security forces launched an offensive against Taliban fighters across three northwestern districts on April 26, after the insurgents advanced to within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of Islamabad.

The offensive recently expanded into Bannu district, which borders the semi-autonomous South Waziristan, and US defence officials said Friday that the tribal zone on the Afghan border would be next in the offensive.

The United States has adopted a new strategy to defeat Islamist extremists, putting Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda and sending an extra 21,000 US troops to neighbouring Afghanistan to battle the Taliban.

Pakistan publicly opposes drone attacks, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, more than 40 such strikes have killed around 420people.


Source: AFP

 

[Metallic]

Suspected US strike kills 9 in Pakistan
18 JUNE 2009

A suspected US missile strike has killed nine people in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt, where the military is poised to attack a feared Taliban commander, officials say.

Thursday's attack hit 20km from the main town of Wana in South Waziristan, where Washington says al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan are hiding, plotting attacks on the West.

Officials said the latest in a string of strikes by unmanned drone aircraft near the Afghan border appeared to have targeted a training camp run by a local Taliban commander named Wali, also known by the alias Malang.

"Four of those killed were local militants and five were foreigners," said a military official in the area who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

"It was not immediately clear if Wali was killed or not," he added.

The official said the foreigners were Arabs and Turkmenistan nationals, but could not confirm their identities.

"Our initial information was that four missiles were fired," said local administration official Naimatullah Khan, adding that he heard five people were killed but was checking for updated information.

The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the unmanned drones in the region.

Pakistan's military said Tuesday that the government had ordered an offensive into the tribal belt along the Afghan border to attack Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and his network.

Targeted strikes have been reported in South Waziristan and other tribal regions, although a full-fledged offensive does not appear to have begun.

Pakistani troops are already fighting a more than seven-week battle to dislodge Taliban insurgents from three other northwest districts, and claim to have almost completed their mission in the scenic Swat valley.

But analysts have said the tribal areas present a far greater challenge, with Mehsud's fighters - believed to number up to 20,000 - entrenched in the hostile mountain terrain and easily able to slip into hideouts in Afghanistan.

A senior US defence official said last week that any operation into South Waziristan would work best with "pressure on both sides of the border."

About 90,000 foreign troops - most of them from the United States - are currently deployed in Afghanistan to battle an insurgency by the resurgent Taliban, which was ousted from government by the 2001 US-led invasion.

The United States administration, which has put Pakistan at the heart of its strategy to battle al-Qaeda, has welcomed the Swat offensive, but the drone attacks are a source of tension between Washington and Islamabad.

Pakistan publicly opposes the strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, more than 40 such strikes have killed nearly 400 people.


Source: AFP

 

[Metallic]

Suspected US missile strike kills six militants in Pakistan: officials
23 JUNE 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — A suspected US missile strike killed six militants in a Pakistani tribal region Tuesday, where security forces are poised for an attack on a Taliban commander, officials said.

"A missile attack by a suspected US drone took place in rugged mountainous terrain in Neej Narai in South Waziristan," said a Pakistani security official who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

He said the drone fired three missiles, adding that "six militants were killed and seven others wounded in the attack."

Another security official confirmed the incident and casualties, saying that the missiles destroyed a compound, a bunker and two vehicles of the Taliban.

It was not immediately known whether there was any high value target present in the area at the time of attack.

Neej Narai is on the outskirts of Makeen village, 60 kilometres (37 miles) northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. It is a known stronghold of most-wanted Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion are holed up in South Waziristan, plotting attacks on Western targets, and Pakistan's army has vowed a military offensive there.

The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy unmanned drones in the region.

The attack came hours after Qari Zainuddin, a tribal leader aligned against Mehsud, was shot dead in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan.

Pakistan publicly opposes the US strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, more than 40 such strikes have killed nearly 400 people.

Pakistani troops are wrapping up a nearly two-month-long battle to dislodge Taliban insurgents from three northwest districts, and the military has said it will open up a second front in the tribal regions to track down Mehsud.

But analysts have said the tribal areas present a far greater challenge, with Mehsud's fighters -- believed to number up to 20,000 -- entrenched in the hostile mountainous terrain and able to slip into Afghanistan.

A senior US defence official said earlier this month that any operation in South Waziristan would work best with "pressure on both sides of the border."

About 90,000 foreign troops -- most of them from the United States -- are currently deployed in Afghanistan to battle an insurgency by the Taliban, which was ousted from government by the 2001 US-led invasion.


Source: AFP

 

[Metallic]

Suspected US missile strike kills six militants in Pakistan: officials
23 JUNE 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — A suspected US missile strike killed six militants in a Pakistani tribal region Tuesday, where security forces are poised for an attack on a Taliban commander, officials said.

"A missile attack by a suspected US drone took place in rugged mountainous terrain in Neej Narai in South Waziristan," said a Pakistani security official who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

He said the drone fired three missiles, adding that "six militants were killed and seven others wounded in the attack."

Another security official confirmed the incident and casualties, saying that the missiles destroyed a compound, a bunker and two vehicles of the Taliban.

It was not immediately known whether there was any high value target present in the area at the time of attack.

Neej Narai is on the outskirts of Makeen village, 60 kilometres (37 miles) northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. It is a known stronghold of most-wanted Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion are holed up in South Waziristan, plotting attacks on Western targets, and Pakistan's army has vowed a military offensive there.

The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy unmanned drones in the region.

The attack came hours after Qari Zainuddin, a tribal leader aligned against Mehsud, was shot dead in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan.

Pakistan publicly opposes the US strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, more than 40 such strikes have killed nearly 400 people.

Pakistani troops are wrapping up a nearly two-month-long battle to dislodge Taliban insurgents from three northwest districts, and the military has said it will open up a second front in the tribal regions to track down Mehsud.

But analysts have said the tribal areas present a far greater challenge, with Mehsud's fighters -- believed to number up to 20,000 -- entrenched in the hostile mountainous terrain and able to slip into Afghanistan.

A senior US defence official said earlier this month that any operation in South Waziristan would work best with "pressure on both sides of the border."

About 90,000 foreign troops -- most of them from the United States -- are currently deployed in Afghanistan to battle an insurgency by the Taliban, which was ousted from government by the 2001 US-led invasion.


Source: AFP

***UPDATE***

Suspected US missile strikes kill 17 in Pakistan: officials
23 JUNE 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — At least 17 people were killed Tuesday when suspected US missile strikes hit a Taliban base in Pakistan's northwest, pounding militants gathering for funeral prayers, officials said.

The first reported strike by an unmanned drone aircraft hit near Makeen village, 60 kilometres (37 miles) northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan and a stronghold of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

"A missile attack by a suspected US drone took place in rugged mountainous terrain in Neej Narai in South Waziristan," said a Pakistani security official who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

He said the first drone fired three missiles Tuesday morning, adding that "six militants were killed and seven others wounded in the attack."

Another security official confirmed the incident and casualties, saying that the missiles destroyed a compound, a bunker and two vehicles of the Taliban in the semi-autonomous tribal belt along the Afghan border.

As militants gathered for funeral rites for the dead later in the day, another unmanned drone aircraft dropped three more missiles, officials said.

"Our agents in the area informed us that eleven militants were confirmed dead. We have reports of dozens wounded," another security official based in the northwest told AFP.

He said that hundreds of militants were assembled to attend the funeral prayers of one of their commanders killed in the initial strike.

"The reports we are receiving from the area said that the death toll may rise as hundreds of militants were attending the funeral prayers," he added.

A local intelligence official confirmed the death toll and said he had reports of more than ten wounded in the second attack.

Security and intelligence officials routinely refuse to be named when talking to the media about the sensitive issue of US strikes.

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

Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion are holed up in South Waziristan, plotting attacks on Western targets, and Pakistan's army has vowed a military offensive there.

The attacks came after Qari Zainuddin, a tribal leader aligned against Mehsud, was shot dead in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan.

Pakistan publicly opposes the US strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, more than 40 such strikes have killed at least 400 people.

Pakistani troops are wrapping up a nearly two-month battle to dislodge Taliban insurgents from three northwest districts, and the military has said it will open up a second front in the tribal regions to track down Mehsud.

A senior US defence official said earlier this month that any operation in South Waziristan would work best with "pressure on both sides of the border."

About 90,000 foreign troops -- most of them from the United States -- are currently deployed in Afghanistan to battle an insurgency by the Taliban, which was ousted from government by the 2001 US-led invasion.

Source: AFP

 

[Metallic]

***UPDATE***

US drone kills at least 45 militants in Pakistan-officials
23 JUNE 2009

ISLAMABAD, June 23 (Reuters) - A U.S. drone attacked militants in Pakistan in Tuesday, killing at least 45 of them, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The militants were meeting after a funeral in the South Waziristan region, a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

Source: Reuters

***UPDATE***

Suspected US missile strikes kill 17 in Pakistan: officials
23 JUNE 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — At least 17 people were killed Tuesday when suspected US missile strikes hit a Taliban base in Pakistan's northwest, pounding militants gathering for funeral prayers, officials said.

The first reported strike by an unmanned drone aircraft hit near Makeen village, 60 kilometres (37 miles) northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan and a stronghold of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

"A missile attack by a suspected US drone took place in rugged mountainous terrain in Neej Narai in South Waziristan," said a Pakistani security official who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

He said the first drone fired three missiles Tuesday morning, adding that "six militants were killed and seven others wounded in the attack."

Another security official confirmed the incident and casualties, saying that the missiles destroyed a compound, a bunker and two vehicles of the Taliban in the semi-autonomous tribal belt along the Afghan border.

As militants gathered for funeral rites for the dead later in the day, another unmanned drone aircraft dropped three more missiles, officials said.

"Our agents in the area informed us that eleven militants were confirmed dead. We have reports of dozens wounded," another security official based in the northwest told AFP.

He said that hundreds of militants were assembled to attend the funeral prayers of one of their commanders killed in the initial strike.

"The reports we are receiving from the area said that the death toll may rise as hundreds of militants were attending the funeral prayers," he added.

A local intelligence official confirmed the death toll and said he had reports of more than ten wounded in the second attack.

Security and intelligence officials routinely refuse to be named when talking to the media about the sensitive issue of US strikes.

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

Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion are holed up in South Waziristan, plotting attacks on Western targets, and Pakistan's army has vowed a military offensive there.

The attacks came after Qari Zainuddin, a tribal leader aligned against Mehsud, was shot dead in the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan.

Pakistan publicly opposes the US strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, more than 40 such strikes have killed at least 400 people.

Pakistani troops are wrapping up a nearly two-month battle to dislodge Taliban insurgents from three northwest districts, and the military has said it will open up a second front in the tribal regions to track down Mehsud.

A senior US defence official said earlier this month that any operation in South Waziristan would work best with "pressure on both sides of the border."

About 90,000 foreign troops -- most of them from the United States -- are currently deployed in Afghanistan to battle an insurgency by the Taliban, which was ousted from government by the 2001 US-led invasion.

Source: AFP

 

[Metallic]

U.S. drone strike kills 10 in Pakistan: officials
3 JULY 2009

WANA, Pakistan – A U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles on Friday into Pakistan's South Waziristan region, killing 10 militants, officials said, ahead of an expected Pakistani military offensive in the area.

The United States, facing a growing Afghan insurgency, began stepping up drone attacks on militant strongholds in lawless enclaves on the Pakistani side of the border a year ago despite Pakistani complaints.

Three missiles were fired at militant hideouts in an area near the Afghan border controlled by Pakistani Taliban leader and al Qaeda ally Baitullah Mehsud, killing 10 militants and wounding seven, two intelligence agency officials said.

"The missiles hit an office of Mufti Noor Wali, who was once in charge of training militants for suicide attacks," one of the officials said.

It was not known if Wali was among the dead, or if any foreign militants had been killed, they said.

The attack came as Pakistani troops stepped up pressure on Mehsud's strongholds, carrying out air strikes by jet fighters in recent weeks to soften up targets before an expected full-scale offensive.

The drone attack also came a day after thousands of U.S. Marines launched an offensive against the Afghan Taliban in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, and as British troops seized important canal crossings in support of that effort.

Helmand shares a 200-km (130-mile) desert border with the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan.

NEW FRONT?

Pakistan officially objects to the strikes by pilotless U.S. aircraft on its soil, saying they violate its sovereignty and undermine efforts to deal with militancy by inflaming public anger and bolstering support for the militants.

After an alarming expansion of militant influence and aggression in northwest Pakistan, the Pakistani army went on the offensive in the Swat region two months ago, a development U.S. officials have welcomed because of fears about Pakistan's stability and the safety of its nuclear arsenal.

The military says it is nearing the end of the offensive in Swat, a former tourist valley northwest of Islamabad, although soldiers are encountering pockets of fighters.

But no Taliban leaders have been among the approximately 1,600 militants the army has reported killed. Independent casualty estimates are not available.

The failure to kill or capture Taliban leaders in Swat has led to fears that they could make a comeback if and when the army withdraws.

Trouble is also brewing in another militant stronghold on the Afghan border, North Waziristan.

A militant faction allied with Mehsud ambushed an army convoy there on Sunday, killing 16 soldiers.

Analysts say the army is reluctant to open a new front in North Waziristan while it is finishes off in Swat and prepares for South Waziristan, but it would want to hit back in response to the killing of the 16 men.

Helicopter gunships have struck in the area this week and on Friday, jet fighters bombed militants to the west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, killing five of them, residents and security officials said.

The military said on Friday afternoon its forces had killed 11 militants and captured 24 over the previous 24 hours in the Swat valley.

However, a military helicopter crashed on Friday because of a technical failure in the northwestern Orakzai region, underlining the cost of fighting the militants.

Government officials in the region said the four men on board were killed.


Source: Reuters

 

[iPhone]

That's great news, bomb these terrorists to oblivion, don't give them any quarters like they don't to innocent Pakistanis and Afghanis. We should thank the U.S. for doing us this big of a favor of taking out our enemies for us.

 

[Metallic]

US strike kills 16 militants in Pakistan: officials
7 JULY 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A US missile strike slammed into a militant hideout in a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud on Tuesday, killing 16 militants in the tribal belt, security officials said.

The strike, carried out by a suspected unmanned US aircraft, destroyed a compound in the Zangara area of South Waziristan -- part of Pakistan's lawless, tribal belt on the Afghan border where Islamist militants are holed up.

One missile struck a Taliban hideout in the hamlet of Chinakai, killing foreign and local militants, said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity in a reference to suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

"Sixteen militants were killed and at least eight others wounded in the missile strike. Four among the dead are foreigners and the remaining are locals," one Pakistani security official told AFP.

Another security official confirmed the number of casualties and said 12 bodies had already been pulled out of the rubble of the compound, which was destroyed in the strike.


Source: AFP

 

[TaimiKhan]

AoA, well nowadays many strikes are happening in the mehsud territory, which wasnt the case before, as americans used to attack the wazir area, not the mehsud tribe area ir baithullah mehsud men.

I may be wrong, but i did some analysis, if you guys remember a news item had appeared that Pakistan has made a UCAV on the pattern of predator and have been handed over for operational use. In my opinion these strikes in Mehsud area are being carried out by Pakistan but the blame goes to USA as since the news item had appeared, strikes in Mehsud area have begun.

Comments are welcome.

 

[Metallic]

Death toll from US strike in Pakistan rises to ‘up to 40’
8 JULY 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Up to 40 suspected militants were killed in a second US missile strike Wednesday in Pakistan’s northwest tribal belt, officials said, raising the toll from an earlier 25 dead.

The attack, carried out by a suspected unmanned US aircraft, targeted five vehicles carrying militants in a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan.

‘The death toll has risen to 40 and five vehicles were also destroyed — targeted by a US drone in Janata area of South Waziristan,’ one security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another Pakistani security official and a tribesman from the area confirmed the same casualty statistic.

A third, senior-ranking official put the death toll at between 30 and 40. The area is remote and out of direct Pakistani government control, making all casualty reports from attacks difficult to verify.

File photo shows a US Airman walking around a Hellfire missile as he performs a pre-flight check on a Predator unmanned aircraft system.

Source: AFP

 

[Metallic]

***UPDATE***

Two US drone attacks kill 48 militants
9 JULY 2009

Missiles hit Taliban’s training centre, convoy in SWA
By Mushtaq Yusufzai & Irfan Burki

PESHAWAR/WANA: Forty-eight militants were killed and several others injured in two separate attacks by US spy planes in the troubled South Waziristan Agency (SWA) on Wednesday. However, some reports quoting officials of law-enforcement agencies and political administration put the death toll in the two attacks at 58.

According to sources, besides the tribal militants, the dead also included four Arabs and seven Uzbeks.It was the deadliest attack for the Baitullah Mehsud-led militants after June 23 in which 80 people, mostly militants, were killed in two attacks on a training camp and funeral ceremony of Taliban commander Khwaz Wali Mehsud near Makeen.

“Almost 90 per cent of the militants travelling in the convoy were killed in the drone attack,” said an official of law-enforcement agencies based in the troubled region. Pleading anonymity, he said it was a huge loss for the Baitullah Mehsud-led militants.

He said the militants in the Mehsud-inhabited areas of South Waziristan had been reduced to their hideouts and caves in the mountains due to continuous flights of the US spy planes and frequent attacks on their locations.

There are also reports that senior militant commanders, including their leader Baitullah Mehsud, have fled their troubled tribal region due to continuous flights of the US drones. In the deadly attack, the drones targeted a convoy of the Taliban militants near Janata village of Srarogha Tehsil, killing 40 militants.

Sources close to the militants said that a convoy of pick-ups was carrying militants from Ladha to Srarogha for a meeting of militant commanders when it came under attack. They said three drones were flying over the region during the attack.

The drones fired seven missiles and destroyed all the five vehicles on the spot. There were also reports that bodies of the slain militants were seen lying for about two hours at the spot as the drones were still hovering over the area, frightening militants of the adjoining villages.

When the drones disappeared, militants reached the spot and retrieved the bodies of their slain colleagues. Earlier, sources from the restive tribal region said eight militants were killed and 12 others injured in the first drone attack at a training camp of the militants at Karwan Manza village of Ladha Subdivision. They said two US drones were seen flying over the area during the attack.

The sources said the building was being used for training the newly-recruited militants. Militant sources told The News by telephone that 150-200 recruits used to gather at the camp everyday for physical training and use of sophisticated weapons.

Senior commander of Baitullah Mehsud group, Noor Wali Mehsud, was reportedly running the camp — located in the mountains, about one kilometre of the scenic Kaniguram Valley. He, however, remained safe. The drones fired six missiles at the camp that razed it to the ground. The Taliban confirming the drone attack at the training camp, however, denied losses to their men.

Source: Two US drone attacks kill 48 militants

Death toll from US strike in Pakistan rises to ‘up to 40’
8 JULY 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Up to 40 suspected militants were killed in a second US missile strike Wednesday in Pakistan’s northwest tribal belt, officials said, raising the toll from an earlier 25 dead.

The attack, carried out by a suspected unmanned US aircraft, targeted five vehicles carrying militants in a stronghold of Pakistani Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan.

‘The death toll has risen to 40 and five vehicles were also destroyed — targeted by a US drone in Janata area of South Waziristan,’ one security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another Pakistani security official and a tribesman from the area confirmed the same casualty statistic.

A third, senior-ranking official put the death toll at between 30 and 40. The area is remote and out of direct Pakistani government control, making all casualty reports from attacks difficult to verify.

File photo shows a US Airman walking around a Hellfire missile as he performs a pre-flight check on a Predator unmanned aircraft system.






Source: AFP