US Drone strikes in Pakistan are illegal under international law.

[TruthSeeker]

US Predators launch 3 more strikes in Khyber, killing 54 'terrorists'

By Bill Roggio, December 17, 2010

US Predators launched attacks in Pakistan's tribal agency of Khyber for the second day straight. Fifty-four "terrorists" were reported killed in three separate strikes in an area of Khyber known to host the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Unmanned Predator strike aircraft, or the more deadly Reapers, fired missiles at two compounds in the villages of Shandana and Speen Drang in the Tirah Valley, and at a safe house in the village of Nakai in Malik Deen Khel. Fifteen "terrorists" were killed in the Nakai strike, seven were killed in Shandana, and 32 members of the Lashkar-e-Islam were killed in Speen Drang, according to reports in SAMAA, Dawn, and the Associated Press.

The targets of the strikes are unclear. According to CNN, Ali Marjan, a commander of the Lashkar-e-Islam, a Taliban-like group based in Khyber, was among those killed during a meeting of the Lashkar-e-Islam. No senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders have been reported killed in the strike.

Today's three strikes follow another strike in Khyber yesterday, which also hit a target in the Tirah Valley. Seven Taliban fighters from Swat and South Waziristan were reported killed in yesterday's strike.

The strikes in Khyber signal a possible shift in the Predator campaign. Prior to the four strikes in Khyber over the past two days, there has been only one other attack in the tribal agency since the US began its air campaign in 2004. On May 15, 2010, Predators fired at truckloads of jihadists in the Tirah Valley, killing 15 fighters.

This year the strikes have been confined almost exclusively to North Waziristan, where the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups are based. All but 13 of this year's 112 strikes have taken place North Waziristan. Of the 13 strikes that have occurred outside of North Waziristan, seven took place in South Waziristan, five occurred in Khyber, and one took place in Kurram.

Khyber has become a hub of Taliban and al Qaeda activity since the Pakistani military launched an operation in the Mehsud tribal areas in South Waziristan in October 2009. Taliban forces have relocated to the Bara and Jamrud regions and the Tirah Valley in the Khyber agency.

Tariq Afridi, a powerful Taliban commander based in Darra Adam Khel, has taken control of Taliban operations in Khyber. The Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam, a local Taliban ally commanded by Mangal Bagh, have gained power in Khyber despite a series of Pakistani military operations that began in the summer of 2007 which were supposedly designed to relieve Taliban pressure on neighboring Peshawar. A total of five military offensives have failed to dislodge the terror groups.

Both the Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Islam are known to operate bases and training camps in the Tirah Valley as well as in Bara and Jamrud. These safe havens in Khyber enable these terror groups to launch attacks inside Pakistan as well across the border in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan. In November 2008, the US military attacked Taliban forces in the Tirah Valley after they retreated across the border from Nangarhar in Afghanistan. US strike aircraft and artillery killed seven Taliban fighters during the hot pursuit.

Read more: US Predators launch 3 more strikes in Khyber, killing 54 'terrorists' - The Long War Journal

 

[TruthSeeker]

Al Qaeda-linked Taliban leader reported killed in Khyber Predator strike

By Bill Roggio, December 20, 2010

A Taliban leader who commanded one of al Qaeda's military units in northwestern Pakistan is reported to have been killed by US Predators in the Dec. 17 airstrike in the Khyber tribal agency.

Ibn Amin, the commander of the Tora Bora Brigade, one of six formations in al Qaeda's Lashkar al Zil or Shadow Army, is said to have been killed along with 32 other terrorists by the US in an unmanned Predator attack in Speen Drang in the Tirah Valley in Pakistan's Khyber tribal agency. The US carried out three strikes in the Tirah Valley on Dec. 17, and another on Dec. 16. More than 60 Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam commanders and fighters were reported killed in the four strikes.

Amin is said to have been meeting with leaders of the Lashkar-e-Islam, a Taliban-like group that controls large areas of Khyber. Eight Lashkar-e-Islam commanders were reported killed in the strike. Leaders of the Lashkar-e-Islam said Amin was among those killed in the strike.

US Intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that Amin was indeed a target of the strikes, and he is thought to have been killed.

Amin was attempting to repair a rift between top leaders of the Lashkar-e-Islam, which is commanded by Mangal Bagh, Geo News reported.

One of the most wanted Taliban leaders in Pakistan, Amin was Mullah Fazlullah's second in command; Fazlullah is the overall leader of the Swat Taliban.

In May 2009, the Pakistani government placed a 15 million rupee ($185,000) bounty out for Amin for leading the Swat Taliban's military forces during the Taliban takeover from 2007 to 2009. He was known for his brutality; his forces routinely executed and butchered anyone who opposed Taliban rule in the Swat Valley, including policemen, soldiers, and government officials.

Amin is said to have been involved in the execution and beheading of Pir Saimullah, an anti-Taliban tribal leader, and desecration of his corpse in December 2009. The Taliban dug up Pir Saimullah's corpse, hanged it upside down, and warned villagers not to bury the body lest they incur the Taliban's wrath.

As the leader of the Tora Bora Brigade, Amin is said to have commanded between 1,500 and 2,000 fighters. The Pakistani Army ejected the Taliban from Swat after the Taliban overreached and invaded neighboring districts. The Taliban takeover of Buner in April 2009, which was organized by Amin, had put the Taliban within 60 miles of Islamabad and sparked fears of a collapse of the Pakistani government.

Amin is reported to have been sheltering in the Mohmand tribal agency and reorganizing the Swat Taliban for an al Qaeda-led offensive in the northwest. According to the Asia Times, Amin's fighters were training in the Tirah Valley in Khyber.

Amin has been reported killed in the past. The Pakistani military and the interior ministry claimed that Amin was killed in May 2009 during the Swat offensive. Amin later resurfaced and took control of the Taliban forces in Swat, and continued to carry out harassment attacks against the military.


Read more: Al Qaeda-linked Taliban leader reported killed in Khyber Predator strike - The Long War Journal

 

[TruthSeeker]

US Predators kill 25 'rebels' in pair of strikes in North Waziristan

By Bill Roggio, December 27, 2010

The US launched two airstrikes today in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. The strikes are the first in 10 days, and the first in the Mir Ali area in a month.

In the first strike, unmanned Predators or the more heavily armed and deadly Reapers fired two missiles at a compound and four more missiles at two vehicles in the village of Sher Tala in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, according to Geo News. One of the vehicles is said to have been laden with explosives and ammunition, "magnifying the blasts from the missile attacks," Al Jazeera reported. Pakistani intelligence officials said that 21 "rebels" were killed. Pakistani officials often refer to al Qaeda or allied Central Asian terrorists as rebels.

The second strike occurred hours later in the village of Machikhel in the Mir Ali area. Four more Taliban fighters were killed in an attack on a vehicle.

No senior al Qaeda or Taliban fighters have been reported killed in either of the strikes.

The Mir Ali area is in the sphere of influence of Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an al Qaeda leader who serves as a key link to the Taliban and supports al Qaeda's external operations network. Mir Ali is a known hub for al Qaeda's military and external operations councils. In addition to al Qaeda, Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network also operate in the Mir Ali area.

Read more: US Predators kill 25 'rebels' in pair of strikes in North Waziristan - The Long War Journal

 

[TruthSeeker]

Pakistan: U.S. Missile Attack Reported

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, December 27, 2010

American missiles struck two vehicles in a Taliban stronghold on Pakistan’s side of the border with Afghanistan on Monday, killing 18 militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The six missiles struck Sheratala, a village in the in Mir Ali District of North Waziristan. The vehicles were apparently leaving a compound, and one was carrying a large load of ammunition, compounding the blasts from the missile strikes, the intelligence officials said.

 

[mr42O]

Truthseeker first of all change ur nick after reading ur comment.

Are u joking ? More terrorists are killed than civilians ? Thats how american dreams works. Check and read ur own reports about how many terrorists get killed and how many women and children get killed. If u are driving with a friend who is wanted for some thing can police just shoot u down or put u in jail ?

USA have lost war and will get the f*** out of Afghanistan who have to deal with terrorist u have made by ur policy ?

But what can i say to americans when our leaders are bhagarat and not in any way repersenting Pakistan. As one person on tv said ppl like Zardari, Gilanai and Nawaz are bulletproof bhagrat

Yes, I do disagree that more innocents have been killed then terrorists. I think the reverse is true. As far as high value targets, I posted the following on one of the drone threads in early February before the latest strikes: (http://www.defence.pk/forums/war-terror/20636-time-running-short-drone-strikes-pakistan-10.html)

Drone strikes killed high-value targets, US tells Pakistan

By Anwar Iqbal, Dawn, February 9, 2009

WASHINGTON, Feb 8: The United States wants to continue drone strikes inside Pakistan’s tribal areas because US military experts believe the strikes have killed a large number of Al Qaeda leaders and local militants and have destroyed their hideouts.

A US account of the strikes, conveyed to Pakistan and obtained by Dawn, depicts a picture which is very different from the public perception in Pakistan that the strikes only kill innocent civilians and children.

The document includes information conveyed to Washington by US military officials in Afghanistan about more than a dozen drone attacks carried out by US unmanned aircraft since December 2007.

The document identifies militant leaders as HVT or high value targets.

According to this document, on Dec 3, 2007, a Predator strike injured Shaykh Issa al-Masri in Jani Khel, Bannu.

On Jan 28, 2008, a Predator killed HVT Abu Layth Al-Libi and associates in Salam Kot, North Waziristan.

On Feb 27, 2008, a drone killed foreign Al Qaeda trainees. On March 16, 2008, more Al Qaeda trainees were killed. The document does not identify those killed in these attacks and does not reveal the places hit by the drones.

On May 14, 2008, a Predator killed HVT Abu Sulayman Al-Jazairi and associates in Damadola, Bajaur.

On July 28, 2008, a Predator strike killed HVT Abu Khabab Al-Masri and other Al Qaeda activists.

On Aug 12, 2008, a Predator killed foreign fighters and militants associated with HVT Usama Al-Kini and commander Nazir.

On Aug 20, 2008, a drone killed and injured multiple foreign Al Qaeda members and local associates, including some Haqqani network associates. An Al Qaeda facilitator Haji Yacoub was injured.

On Aug 27, 2008, a Predator attempted to target an Al Qaeda-associated meeting but missed target. It did not cause collateral damage.

On Aug 30, 2008, a Predator strike killed Al Qaeda paramilitary operatives subordinate to Al Qaeda commander and East Africa Embassy bomber Usama Al Kini.On Aug 31, 2008, a Predator killed several Al Qaeda operatives, including two prominent Al Qaeda paramilitary commanders.

On Sept 2, 2008, a Predator killed four to 10 persons associated with Al Qaeda commander and logistician Abu Wafa Al Saudi.

On Sept 4, 2008, a Predator strike killed Abu Wafa Al Saudi.

On Sept 8, 2008, a Predator killed several Haqqani sub-commanders and a number of Arabs. Members of the extended Haqqani family were killed.

On Sept 11, 2008, a Predator killed 10 to 15 militants associated with Al Qaeda facilitator Qari Imran’s training camp.

On Sept 17, 2008, a Predator killed 4-6 militants delivering rockets to a militant camp near the Afghan border and probably HVT Abu Ubaydh Al Tunisi.

--------------------------------------------
Added from the thread S-2 cites below:

September 30, 2008: 6 killed in a drone strike near Mir Ali, Pakistan. The missiles struck the home of a local Taliban commander before midnight in Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan - a known haven for the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters near to the Afghan border.

October 16, 2008: Senior Al-Qaeda leader Khalid Habib killed in a strike. Khalid Habib was a member of Al-Qaeda's central structure in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Khalid Habib was reportedly sitting in a Toyota station wagon which was struck by a U.S. missile. On October 28, militants confirmed to the Asia Times that Habib was killed in the U.S. drone attack.

October 22, 2008: 4 killed in a village near Miranshah by missiles fired from suspected U.S. drone.

October 26, 2008: 20 killed including Taliban commander Mohammad Omar in a U.S. strike in South Waziristan. Mohammad Omar was a close associate of the dead Taliban commander Nek Mohammed (killed in a U.S. drone strike on June 18, 2004).

October 31, 2008: 20 killed including Al-Qaeda operative Abu Akash after 4 missiles hit Waziristan. Abu Akash was also known by aliases Haji Akasha Khan, Abdur Rehman and Iraqi Malang. He was born in Iraq. The building that was hit by U.S. missiles was thought to be a militant hideout. Also other foreign militants were killed in the drone strike, according to officials.

November 14, 2008: 12 killed in a strike near Miranshah. A drone fired two missiles onto the house of a local tribesman in a border village near Miranshah, which has been the main target for US strikes in the recent months. A security official said 9 foreign militants - believed to be al-Qaeda fighters - were among those killed in the strike.

November 22, 2008: British Al-Qaeda operative Rashid Rauf and 4 others including Abu Zubair al-Masri (Top Al-Qaeda explosives expert originally from Egypt) killed in a US missile strike in North Waziristan.

December 22, 2008: At least 8 killed in South Waziristan by suspected US drone strikes. Pakistani intelligence sources said they believed the extremists killed were members of local Pakistani Taliban groups. Three U.S. missiles reportedly targeted vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns, according to Pakistani intelligence sources and local officials.

January 1, 2009: 2 senior Al-Qaeda leaders Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam & Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan killed in Pakistan in a missile strike by US drones. (Both were Kenyans on the FBI's list of Most Wanted Terrorists in the United States for their part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.)

January 23, 2009: In the first attacks since Barack Obama became president at least 14 killed in Waziristan in 2 separate attacks by 5 missiles fired from drones on suspected terrorist hideouts.

February 14, 2009: More than 30 killed (including Taliban and Al-Qaeda members according to a Pakistani intelligence official and residents of the area) when two missiles are launched by CIA drones into Pakistan near town of Makeen in South Waziristan. Dozens of followers of Pakistan's top Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, were staying in the housing compound in the village when it was hit by U.S. missiles.

February 16, 2009: Strike in Kurram Valley kills 30. The missile attack targeted a house used by a Taliban commander in Kurram

March 1, 2009: Strike in Sararogha village in South Waziristan kills seven suspected Islamic militants. "It was a Taleban sanctuary, which was destroyed in the attack," an unnamed Pakistani security official told AFP news agency. "Some foreigners were possibly among those killed, including Uzbeks and Arabs".

March 12, 2009: At least 24 Local Taliban killed. U.S. Missile Attack Targets Suspected Militant Hideout in Pakistan. Four missiles believed to have been fired by at least two pilotless U.S. drone aircraft hit a militant hideout and training camp in the Kurram tribal region on the Afghan border.

 

[mr42O]

Reading about AQ leader was killed. How many AQ og Taliban BIG NAMES have american ever caught or killed ? Americans who for along time was fooled by a shop keeper fra quetta as he was one of big fish in taliban tells were USA and there war is.

Tell me name of 10 ppl killed in these attacks

 

[TruthSeeker]

US Predators strike again in North Waziristan

By Bill Roggio, December 28, 2010

US Predators struck again today in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, launching two airstrikes in an area right along the border with Afghanistan.

Both strikes took place in the Ghulam Khan area of North Waziristan. In the first strike, the unmanned Predators or the more deadly Reapers launched missiles at two compounds in the village of Ghulam Khan, killing five people.

The second strike targeted vehicles in the nearby village of Nawab. The Predators made two passes at a group of vehicles. In the second strike, 10 Taliban fighters were reported killed.

"First a US drone fired missiles at a double-cabin pick-up truck and about 15 minutes later two more cars were struck," a Pakistani intelligence official told Geo News.

No senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders have been reported killed in either strike.



Read more: US Predators strike again in North Waziristan - The Long War Journal

 

[LongLiveBritian]

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Suspected U.S. drone strikes killed four militants Friday in Pakistan's tribal areas, intelligence officials said.

The attacks targeted a vehicle in the area of Miran Shah in North Waziristan.

The Pakistani officials asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Based on a CNN count, Friday's strike raises the number of drone attacks to 111 this year, compared with 52 in all of 2009.

Intense unmanned aircraft missile activity in Pakistan's tribal region has moved northward, mirroring the movement of suspected militants as they try to flee the targeted strikes, according to a senior Pakistani military official.

The United States does not officially confirm that it has drones firing missiles at terror targets in Pakistan, but it is the only country in the region known to have the capability to do so.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/12/31/pakistan.drone.strike/

Can you trust CNN?

 

[LongLiveBritian]

Suspected? does this mean that they are killing innocent people..

 

[TruthSeeker]

US Predators strike again along the Afghan-Pakistani border

By Bill Roggio, December 31, 2010

US Predators struck yet again today in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, launching an airstrike in an area right along the border with Afghanistan that is used to stage attacks against US and Afghan forces.

Today's strike took place in the town of Ghulam Khan, when unmanned Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired four missiles at a convoy of vehicle thought to belong to members of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network. Eight Haqqani Network fighters were said to have been killed in the strike.

No senior al Qaeda or Haqqani network leaders have been reported killed in today's attack.

Read more: US Predators strike again along the Afghan-Pakistani border - The Long War Journal

 

[mjnaushad]

Suspected? does this mean that they are killing innocent people..

Just two weeks ago their was protest in which a man was sitting in front of Islamabad Press club ..... He lost his young son and wife and daughter in a drone strike....On the other hand Baitullah also got killed in a drone strike


So yes drone strikes are killing some bad guys but producing a double number of bad guys too....

 

[Ticking Bomb]

I condem these drone attacks coz they r illigal as well counter productive at large. They give recruting bonanza to militants and make life more difficult for Pak army.

See if Pak army does any good work in tribal area, and than single drone strike wash it down the drain the next day.

These drone's r killing pakistani people more or less randomly. On hunch's or bad intelligent.

If it kills 1 millitant rightly, it take 7 innocent with it as collatral.

If my wife and children's r killed in a drone attack, coz some zambozzy sitting in langley thinks that my mud house is where millitant's MIGHT be hidding, than i dont want compansation, i want revenge and than any body who i see supporting these drone attacks is a fair game for me, weather he is in uniform or in civilian dress, makes no differance to me.

So next time any one celebrates drone attack, he or she should be prepared to weep next day.

I hope people understand what i want to express, iam not anti-national but there r limits.........when those limits r crossed than a simple family man can become a millitant in a flash........

 

[Muhammad-Bin-Qasim]

Best solution has already been offered to Washington... Let Pak Airforce take over the drones... You can instantly end the trigger happy American bloodshed due to these drones and Pak Airforce would exercise the power with extreme caution!!!

Shame on America for spilling yet more innocent blood... Dont they realize... What goes around comes around?

 

[MrProudIndian]

What the hell is pak govt. doing?
No offense,but if innocents are being killed,it feel bad going by this, it should have been irresistible for Pak people and govt.!

 

[Chogy]

Best solution has already been offered to Washington... Let Pak Airforce take over the drones... You can instantly end the trigger happy American bloodshed due to these drones and Pak Airforce would exercise the power with extreme caution!!!

Shame on America for spilling yet more innocent blood... Dont they realize... What goes around comes around?

Sir... if you don't realize that Pakistani military men at the highest level are not involved, then I'm not sure you're seeing this clearly.

First is the requirement for intel. The drones are not magic; they cannot find terrorists with some sort of "TTP/Taliban/al-quaeda sniffer device." There are Pakistanis on the ground in the disputed areas finding these men. Above them, I haven't the slightest doubt that the effort is joint, with Pakistani military men at probably the highest level, working together with the U.S.

By keeping the cooperation secret, the Pakistan Army and government has plausible deniability.

Finally, these strikes are as "surgical" as anything in the history of modern warfare. If the date was 1970, and some high-ranking terrorist was known to be in a house, dumb iron bombs would rain down and shatter an entire city block.

The other option is to do nothing. What would the future of Afghanistan and Pakistan be if the U.S. pulled the plug on the whole thing? al-quaeda reached across an entire hemisphere to attack us. But these same elements live inside Pakistan and Afghanistan both. And they will not be content to simply control a small area. Their goal is the export of their ideology; those that resist will be killed. They need to be dealt with NOW, with forces already there, via a joint operation between Pakistan, and NATO/ISAF/coalition forces.