A US drone has fired a pair of missles at a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region near the Afghan border, killing three suspected fighters, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The strike early on Thursday hit Mubarak Shahi village in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Pakistan, said the intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
"Militants were using this house as a compound. At least three militants were killed in this drone strike," a security official based in the northwestern city of Peshawar told AFP new agency.
Another security official in Miranshah confirmed the attack and said four fighters were killed.
The exact identities of the suspected fighters were unclear. The area is dominated by prominent local commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who has focused his fight against Afghan and foreign troops across the border in Afghanistan.
Violation of Sovereignty
The covert US attacks are unpopular in Pakistan, where the government criticises them as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon against Taliban fighters.
The US rarely discusses the covert CIA drone programme in Pakistan in public. But American officials have said privately that the strikes have killed many senior al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders.
On Wednesday, a pair of suicide bombers rammed their truck filled with explosives into the gate of an army camp in another part of Pakistan's tribal region, killing three soldiers and wounding more than 20, intelligence officials said.
Many were wounded when the blast caused the roof of a military hospital at the camp to collapse, said the intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
Some of the soldiers were critically wounded, and officials warned the death toll could rise.
The attack occured in Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal area, which was the most important sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban until the army launched a major ground offensive in 2009.
The army says it has made great progress in flushing the fighters out of the area, but attacks still occur periodically.
It is impressive what these drones are capable of doing and what they have already done so far for the war on terror.
ReplyDelete-Matthew Cypher
The drone have had a good and bad effect. Pro is killing and taking out terrorist groups but with that comes the price of breaking trust with Pakistan and kill not only terrorists but also civilians
ReplyDelete(Sara K.)
I think the drone strikes are a necessary evil. Obviously the system is very imperfect and can result in innocent lives being lost. But until a better alternative is developed, drones are the best we can do without sending actual troops in, something that we just can't do.
ReplyDelete-Alex Canan
I like Alex's statement about the necessary evil. We've developed this technology, so obviously we are going to utilize it. Harming civilians is a by-product of any war, whether that be one fought on land by American soldiers or in the air by unmanned drones. However, I do understand the Pakistani argument that we are infringing upon their sovereignty. If the tables were reversed, I know we would be outraged and scared of these drone strikes. But, seeing as we're the U.S., that pretty much gives us free reign to use our technology. It sounds horrible, but it's the truth. -Mae Markowski
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