US Drone strikes in Pakistan are illegal under international law.

[waraich66]

Thank you USA!



The families, relatives and friends of Pakistanis killed by militants are grateful.

Dont you realise these attacks will further increase the militancy.Please learn little about pushtoon tradition , they will take revenge of innocient killing even after 100 years.

Can you tell how many AQ or TTP terrorist killed and how many innocient killed?

 

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US missile strike kills four Taliban in Pakistan
27 AUGUST 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A US missile strike from a drone aircraft Thursday killed at least four Taliban militants in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

"The strike targeted a Taliban compound in Kaniguram village of South Waziristan, killing four militants," a senior security official told AFP.

Another official confirmed the casualties and said that a US drone fired two missiles, but added it was not immediately clear whether there was any high-value target present in the area at the time.

"The missile strike was carried out at 3.00 pm (0900 GMT)," the official said, adding that the village is known to have hideouts belonging to fighters loyal to slain Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack on August 5. However, his death was only confirmed by other Taliban commanders on Tuesday.

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.

Pakistan in April launched a punishing military offensive against the Taliban in the northwest, targeting the rebels in the districts of Swat, Buner and Lower Dir after militants advanced closer to the capital Islamabad.

Last month the military claimed to have cleared the area of Taliban and vowed to turn their attention to the mountainous tribal belt along the border where Mehsud and his Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) have thrived since 2007.

Pakistan's previous government accused Mehsud of masterminding the 2007 assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a string of other attacks that have killed hundreds of people here over the last two years.

Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion are holed up in the semi-autonomous tribal belt.

Islamabad publicly opposes suspected US missile strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, around 52 such strikes have killed more than 521 people.

But many analysts and observers believe that the government tacitly supports the attacks, as it shares the US goal of eliminating Mehsud's network, which is blamed for scores of deadly attacks in nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistani troops killed nine Taliban militants in northwestern district of Buner and Swat valley on Thursday, officials said.

"Army troops and police exchanged fire with militants after they attacked a police post in Buner, killing seven rebels," local administration official Yahya Akhundzada told AFP.

A local police official also confirmed the incident and casualties and said troops arrested four militants after the gunfight.

Troops killed two other rebels following a gunfight in Kabal village of Swat, a local security official said, adding that the fire fight broke out after militants attacked an army checkpost.


Source: AFP

 

[nwmalik]

waiting for Hakim ullahs death news

 

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Suspected U.S. missile kills 5 in Pakistan
7 SEPTEMBER 2009

MIR ALI, Pakistan – A suspected U.S missile struck a Pakistani militant stronghold near the Afghan border late Monday, killing five people, officials and a resident said.

The missile hit a compound in Machi Khel village in the North Waziristan tribal area — a region home to Taliban and Taliban-affiliated militant groups, some of which are suspected in attacks on Western troops stationed in Afghanistan.

The U.S. has fired scores of missiles from unmanned drones into Pakistan's lawless tribal regions over the past year, a campaign that it says has killed several top al-Qaida and Taliban commanders.

An August missile strike killed Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in neighboring South Waziristan tribal region.

The identities of the people killed Monday were not immediately clear, said three Pakistani officials, two of whom work for the intelligence service. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Local resident Hikmat Ullah said Monday's strike caused "a big blast."

"We saw three planes flying in the sky before the missile strike," he said.

In the past, Pakistan has publicly opposed the missile strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and spur anti-American sentiment. But many observers suspect the two countries have a deal allowing the missile attacks, and Islamabad appeared pleased that Mehsud, whom it considered a grave threat, was eliminated.

Pakistan has waged its own offensives against militants in the country's northwest.

A military statement Monday said security forces killed 10 more suspected insurgents in the latest operation in Khyber tribal region. Authorities say the week-long operation has so far killed over 130 alleged militants — a toll that has not been independently verified.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed two Pakistani soldiers and wounded two others in South Waziristan, said two other intelligence officials and an army official. The officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to media.


Source: Associated Press

 

[Metallic]

US missile attack kills 10 militants in Pakistan: officials
8 SEPTEMBER 2009

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan – A US missile strike from a drone aircraft Tuesday killed at least 10 militants in a tribal area of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.

"The strike targeted a Taliban compound in Dargamandi village of North Waziristan, killing 10 militants," a senior security official told AFP.

Another official confirmed the casualties and said that a US drone fired two missiles to hit the compound, five kilometres (three miles) northwest of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan.

He said it was not immediately clear whether any "high-value" targets were present in the area at the time.

It was the second US missile strike in the North Waziristan tribal region in less than 24 hours. A similar strike targeting a madrassa (Islamic school) and an adjoining house killed at least five people on Monday.

Residents on Tuesday said they had seen the drone hovering in the sky and had been expecting the missile attack.

Washington alleges Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion are holed up in the semi-autonomous tribal belt.

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

Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack on August 5 in neighbouring South Waziristan tribal district.

Pakistan has also carried out air strikes against Mehsud hideouts and commanders have vowed to hunt down the warlord's militant network in the remote northwest region known as a base for Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels.

Pakistan's previous government accused Mehsud of masterminding the 2007 assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a string of other attacks that have killed hundreds of people here over the last two years.

Mehsud also allegedly masterminded multiple deadly bombings in the last two years.

More than 2,000 people have died in bombings across the country since July 2007, when government forces besieged a radical mosque in Islamabad and Mehsud loyalists claimed responsibility for some of the worst attacks.

Islamabad publicly opposes suspected US missile strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace. Since August 2008, around 55 such strikes have killed more than 550 people.

But many analysts and observers believe that the government tacitly supports the attacks, as it shares the US goal of eliminating Mehsud's network, which is blamed for scores of deadly attacks in nuclear-armed Pakistan.

Pakistan in April launched a punishing military offensive against the Taliban in the northwest, targeting the rebels in the districts of Swat, Buner and Lower Dir after militants advanced closer to the capital Islamabad.

The military claimed to have cleared the area of Taliban and vowed to turn their attention to the mountainous tribal belt along the border where Mehsud and his Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have thrived since 2007.

Source: AFP


Archive Photo of an U.S. Drone

 

[muse]

24 more militants killed in Khyber Agency
Updated at: 2320 PST, Tuesday, September 08, 2009
BARA: Twenty-four more militants were killed during the ongoing operation here in Khyber Agency.

According to FC sources the operation was carried out in Zao and Qamar Khel of Tehsil Bara.

Two militants’ hideouts and as many of their vehicles were also destroyed, FC sources added.

 

[muse]

US drone attack kills ten in N Waziristan
Updated at: 2300 PST, Tuesday, September 08, 2009
MIRANSHAH: Ten persons were killed and several others injured when a U.S. drone fired missiles into North Waziristan region on Tuesday, the second such strike in as many days.

According to sources, the drone launched two missiles on a house of a tribesman named Ismail Khan in Syedgai.

The drone is still flying across the area after the strikes.

Five militants, all believed to be Uzbeks, were killed in Monday's strike in the same region.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Senior al Qaeda leaders reported killed in North Waziristan strike

By Bill Roggio, September 8, 2009 12:57 AM, Long War Journal

Two senior al Qaeda leaders are among those thought to have been killed in the Sept. 8 Predator strike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

Ilyas Kashmiri and Mustafa al Jaziri may have been killed during the strike in the village of Machi Khel near Mir Ali. Unmanned US strike aircraft are reported to have hit a car and a madrassa in the attack, The News reported.

Initially five Uzbeks from the Islamic Jihad Group were thought to have been killed, but the report was revised to state that two Arab al Qaeda members, three Punjabi jihadis, and two or three local Taliban fighters were killed.

Mustafa al Jaziri is a senior military commander for al Qaeda. "Jaziri sits on al Qaeda's military shura [council]," a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. "He is an important and effective leader." Jaziri is an Algerian national.

Ilyas Kashmiri is "one of al Qaeda's most dangerous commanders" the official said. He is the operational commander of the Harkat-ul Jihad Islami (HuJI), an al Qaeda-linked terror group that operates in Pakistan, Kashmir, India, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. Kashmiri was recently listed as the fourth most wanted terrorist by Pakistan's Interior Ministry.

Kashmiri is thought to have played a major role in the multi-pronged suicide attack against government and security installations in the eastern Afghan province of Khost in May, the military intelligence official said.

Last year, Kashmiri reportedly drafted a plan to assassinate General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, Pakistan's top military officer, but the plan was canceled by al Qaeda's senior leadership, according to a report in the Asia Times.

Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Laskhar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and several other Pakistani terror groups have merged with al Qaeda in Pakistan, and operate under the name of Brigade 313. This group is interlinked with Pakistan's Taliban and also recruits senior members of Pakistan's military and intelligence services, a senior US official told The Long War Journal.

Brigade 313 has been behind many of the high-profile attacks and bombings inside Pakistan, including multiple assassination attempts against former President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Gilani. Brigade 313 is one of the six known units in the Lashkar al Zil, al Qaeda's paramilitary Shadow Army.

"If we got Kashmiri, this would be the most successful strike against al Qaeda this year," the official said. Kashmiri's death would be on par with that of Osama al Kini, al Qaeda's operational leader in Pakistan, who was killed during a New Years Day airstrike, the official noted.

US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal would neither confirm nor deny that Kashmiri and Jaziri had been killed in the airstrike.

Senior al Qaeda leaders reported killed in North Waziristan strike - The Long War Journal

 

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US drone strike on Pakistan kills four: officials
14 SEPTEMBER 2009

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan – A US drone missile attack Monday killed four militants in a remote Pakistani tribal town bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

The missile targeted a militant vehicle in Toori Khel village in North Waziristan region, they said.

"Four militants were killed," a local government official said, requesting anonymity. He added the number of wounded was not immediately known.

A security official however said four people were wounded.

He said "two of the militants killed in the vehicle were believed to be foreigners" but details were not immediately available.

Foreigners is official jargon in Pakistan for Al-Qaeda militants.


Source: AFP

 

[TruthSeeker]

[Reuters Article on same strike as above:

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Sept 14 (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. drone fired a missile at a Taliban target in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region on Monday, killing at least four people, intelligence officials and residents said.

The latest attack took place near Mir Ali, the second major town of North Waziristan and a sanctuary for militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The blast was so huge that it could be heard as far as Miranshah, the main town of the sparsely-populated region, which is about 24 km (15 miles) from Mir Ali.

Akhtar Rasool, a resident of Mir Ali, said the missile appeared to have struck a militant vehicle.

CORRECTED - CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-U.S. drone fires missile into Pakistan | Reuters

 

[TruthSeeker]

Update on September 14, 2009 strike:

Two Qaeda bosses perished in drone attack on Sep 14

Updated at: 0145 PST, Thursday, September 17, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Two Al-Qaeda commanders were reportedly killed including the close aides of Osama Bin Ladin during US unmanned plane attack on South Waziristan Agency (SWA) on September 14, Geo news quoted US intelligence sources as saying on Wednesday.

According to US intelligence sources, those two killed Qaeda leaders included Nazim-ud-Din Khilalof alias Yahio and Ilyas Kaashmiri.

Nazim-ud-Din Khilalof was hailing from Uzbekistan and was reportedly a close aide of Qaeda’s big boss Osama Bin Ladin while Ilyas Kaashmiri was a resident of Karachi, Pakistan.

Also, Kaashmiri was the operational chief of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and the commander of Harkat-ul-Jihad Al-Islami, the religious outfit, sources added.

Two Qaeda bosses perished in drone attack on Sep 14 - GEO.tv

 

[TruthSeeker]

Second Editorial: Ilyas Kashmiri’s death

In the latest round, American drones have killed two important men in the hierarchy of Al Qaeda. On August 14, Uzbek commander Nizamuddin Zalalov, and leader of Harkatul Jihad Islami, Ilyas Kashmiri, were successfully targeted somewhere in North Waziristan. The first-named was one of about 5,000 Uzbeks that Al Qaeda has brought into Pakistan.

The second man is the head of an outfit of non-state actors that Pakistan allowed to operate in Indian-administered Kashmir. After he was grilled for organising the attack on General Pervez Musharraf in 2003 and then let off, he went to North Waziristan and linked up with the vast network of warriors built up by Al Qaeda.

Kashmiri’s death revives the story of Major Haroon Ashiq (Retd) who began his jihadi career after getting out of the army and worked for a time with Lashkar-e-Tayba as a weapons expert before linking up with Kashmiri in Waziristan. After his capture, the major has revealed that he kidnapped a film producer, Satish Anand, for ransom on the instructions of Kashmiri, and then killed Major General Faisal Alvi (Retd) in Islamabad on Kashmiri’s orders.

While the abduction of Anand in Karachi was meant to beef up the kitty of Al Qaeda, the murder of Alvi became more controversial. Alvi, a dual-nationality British Pakistani serving in the commando section of the army with distinction, was prematurely retired. He told the British newspaper Sunday Times in December 2008 that he feared that someone from within the military establishment would kill him. Major Ashiq was finally the man to do the job for Rs 150,000 given him by Kashmiri.

In August 2009, the Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, stated on TV that “officers of the rank of major” in the intelligence agencies with links with the Taliban and Al Qaeda had been arrested “because they wanted to target army generals”. *

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

In August 2009, the Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, stated on TV that “officers of the rank of major” in the intelligence agencies with links with the Taliban and Al Qaeda had been arrested “because they wanted to target army generals”. *

I could be wrong, but I think I remember the Interior minister clarifying that comment and saying that he was referring to the arrest of the retired major (mentioned earlier in the editorial) and not others in the intelligence agencies.

 

[Metallic]

US drone attack kills 10 in Pakistan: officials
PAKISTAN - 24 SEPTEMBER 2009

A US drone attacked an office operated by an Afghan radical on Thursday (local time), killing 10 suspected militants in Pakistan's tribal belt near the border with Afghanistan, officials said.

"Ten dead bodies were recovered from the debris of the house and two militants were wounded in the attack," said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.

"The target was a compound of Haqqani's men. According to our reports, all of the dead belong to the Haqqani network," the official said.

The Haqqani network is a powerful group based in northwest Pakistan closely linked to Al Qaeda and known for its ruthless and sophisticated attacks, including an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008.

The United States says Islamist fighters are hiding in the Pakistani mountains near the Afghan border, plotting attacks on Western targets and crossing the porous frontier to attack foreign troops based in Afghanistan.

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


Source: AFP

 

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Officials: 2 drone strikes kill 13 in NW Pakistan
PAKISTAN - 29 SEPTEMBER 2009

PARACHINAR, Pakistan – Two missile attacks killed 13 militants in northwestern Pakistan's tribal belt Tuesday in the latest apparent strikes of a covert U.S. program that American officials are considering intensifying.

Unmanned drones have carried out more than 70 missile attacks in the border region over the last year, but Washington rarely acknowledges the strikes. The United States says the mountainous tribal area is a base for militant attacks on American and other NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan and a stronghold of al-Qaida's senior leadership.

One of Tuesday's attacks targeted a Taliban compound in the South Waziristan tribal region and killed six insurgents, including two Uzbek fighters, and wounded six others, two Pakistani intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The attack occurred in Sararogha village, the base of former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in an Aug. 5 airstrike by a U.S. drone.

South Waziristan has seen a spike in violence in recent days, including suicide attacks and rocket and mortar exchanges between militants and the Pakistani army. The army has moved into other areas in the northwest over the last year, but has so far avoided major operations in Waziristan.

A second missile later Tuesday plowed into a house owned by a known Afghan militant in North Waziristan, three intelligence officials and one government official said. Seven insurgents died, they said, also on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

Residents of Dandey Darpakhel village said they saw drones flying over the area for hours before the strike.

"We heard big explosions," said villager Ahmad Hasan. "I went to the scene and saw three dead bodies myself. I also saw three or four people with serious wounds."

The village is home to a religious seminary of al-Qaida-linked Taliban leader Siraj Haqqani.

The U.S. has accused the Haqqani network of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings in Afghanistan, including the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed some 60 people. The Haqqani group also was linked to an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai early last year.

Washington says defeating insurgents in Pakistan is vital for stabilizing Afghanistan, where violence is raging eight years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban. The U.S. believes much of the Afghan insurgency is directed by militants in safe havens across the border.

U.S. officials have said they are considering a strategy of intensified drone attacks against al-Qaida and Taliban targets on the Pakistani side of the border, as an alternative to sending more troops to Afghanistan.


Source: Associated Press