11 killed in North Waziristan drone strike
July 20, 2014
PESHAWAR: At least 11 suspected militants were killed in a US drone attack in Doga Madakhel village in the remote Dattakhel subdivision of North Waziristan Agency early on Saturday, security officials and villagers said.
Tribal sources said eight people were initially killed and three others were injured when the drone fired four missiles and struck two suspected militant hideouts in Doga Madakhel village, sited 40 kilometres west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan.
A tribesman in Doga Madakhel said that eight bodies, mutilated beyond recognition, and three injured people were initially retrieved from the debris of the two small adjacent compounds.
Pleading anonymity, he said the three men had suffered serious burn injuries. They were later taken to an unknown location but all the three succumbed to their injuries.
He said four drones were sighted continuously hovering over Dattakhel and its adjoining villages near the Afghan border on Friday afternoon.
The CIA-operated spy planes have stepped up missile strikes in North Waziristan after the government launched a major military offensive against local and foreign militants hiding there on June 15.
There was no information about the identity of the slain and injured people, though it is generally believed that militants are being targeted in drone strikes.
The security officials in Miranshah also confirmed the drone attack.
They said Pakistan Air Force fighter jets, which have been frequently carrying out airstrikes targeting suspected militant hideouts, didn’t conduct any attack in North Waziristan on Friday.
“You may be aware that a majority of the local and foreign militants shifted to Dattakhel and its adjoining Shawal valley after the military operation in other areas of North Waziristan. Therefore, the drones are focusing specifically on those areas,” a security official told The News on phone from Miranshah.
He said 20 militants, including foreigners, were killed three days ago in two separate drone strikes in the same area of Dattakhel.
He said the security forces had cleared the two major towns, Mir Ali and Miranshah, of the militants and efforts were under way to pursue the remaining militants in Dattakhel.
Tribal sources said Dattakhel is a stronghold of the local Taliban group led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is not part of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Gul Bahadur and his supporters are still regarded as pro-government as they announced a ceasefire in North Waziristan after the government started a military operation there. Gul Bahadur had directed his fighters not to attack the security forces.
Some tribal elders said this was a surprise for them as before the launch of the military operation, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and his Taliban Shura had threatened to end their peace accord with the government and resist the military offensive.
However, when the operation was launched, the tribesmen said Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s Taliban Shura announced a ceasefire and their fighters remained in their homes and villages despite the fact that the military operation displaced more than 930,000 people and caused immense losses to them.
Some tribal elders argue that it was one of the reasons the CIA-operated drones resumed missile strikes in the same area where Pakistani troops are not involved in any offensive.
The Pakistani military said it had killed more than 400 militants during the month-long fighting in Waziristan.
Security officials in Miranshah, however, insisted that no militant whether pro- or anti-Pakistan would be spared in the operation.
They said the operation had been launched in phases and after cleansing Mir Ali and Miranshah, the troops would be sent to Dattakhel and other areas to restore the writ of the state.
Even those displaced from their native villages and living at a refugee camp in Bakkakhel in Frontier Region Bannu wanted the government to clear North Waziristan from all sorts of militants when they return home.
“We left our houses and villages only to enable our armed forces to eliminate all the militants in Waziristan. We want to see Waziristan cleared of militants when we return. It will shatter our trust if Gul Bahadur and other so-called pro-government Taliban are still around,” said one Farmanullah Khan, displaced from Mir Ali.
AFP adds: A senior security official said the drone fired eight missiles on a compound around 2:00am on Saturday killing 11 members of the Punjabi Taliban.
The official said the dead included two “important” commanders of the Pakistani Taliban, but he refused to reveal their identities.
NNI adds from Islamabad: Pakistan condemned the US drone strike in North Waziristan which killed at least 11 persons on Saturday.
“The Government of Pakistan condemns the incident of the US drone strike that took place near Miranshah in North Waziristan during the early hours of Saturday, which led to many casualties,” the Foreign Office said.
“Pakistan regards such strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a Foreign Office statement said hours after the drone attack was launched at a time when Pakistani forces are involved in a major offensive against the militants in North Waziristan.
The FO said these US strikes have a negative impact on the government’s efforts to bring peace and stability to Pakistan and the region.
The US has increased drone strikes since the Pakistani forces started its major operation on June 15.
Tribal sources said eight people were initially killed and three others were injured when the drone fired four missiles and struck two suspected militant hideouts in Doga Madakhel village, sited 40 kilometres west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan.
A tribesman in Doga Madakhel said that eight bodies, mutilated beyond recognition, and three injured people were initially retrieved from the debris of the two small adjacent compounds.
Pleading anonymity, he said the three men had suffered serious burn injuries. They were later taken to an unknown location but all the three succumbed to their injuries.
He said four drones were sighted continuously hovering over Dattakhel and its adjoining villages near the Afghan border on Friday afternoon.
The CIA-operated spy planes have stepped up missile strikes in North Waziristan after the government launched a major military offensive against local and foreign militants hiding there on June 15.
There was no information about the identity of the slain and injured people, though it is generally believed that militants are being targeted in drone strikes.
The security officials in Miranshah also confirmed the drone attack.
They said Pakistan Air Force fighter jets, which have been frequently carrying out airstrikes targeting suspected militant hideouts, didn’t conduct any attack in North Waziristan on Friday.
“You may be aware that a majority of the local and foreign militants shifted to Dattakhel and its adjoining Shawal valley after the military operation in other areas of North Waziristan. Therefore, the drones are focusing specifically on those areas,” a security official told The News on phone from Miranshah.
He said 20 militants, including foreigners, were killed three days ago in two separate drone strikes in the same area of Dattakhel.
He said the security forces had cleared the two major towns, Mir Ali and Miranshah, of the militants and efforts were under way to pursue the remaining militants in Dattakhel.
Tribal sources said Dattakhel is a stronghold of the local Taliban group led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is not part of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Gul Bahadur and his supporters are still regarded as pro-government as they announced a ceasefire in North Waziristan after the government started a military operation there. Gul Bahadur had directed his fighters not to attack the security forces.
Some tribal elders said this was a surprise for them as before the launch of the military operation, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and his Taliban Shura had threatened to end their peace accord with the government and resist the military offensive.
However, when the operation was launched, the tribesmen said Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s Taliban Shura announced a ceasefire and their fighters remained in their homes and villages despite the fact that the military operation displaced more than 930,000 people and caused immense losses to them.
Some tribal elders argue that it was one of the reasons the CIA-operated drones resumed missile strikes in the same area where Pakistani troops are not involved in any offensive.
The Pakistani military said it had killed more than 400 militants during the month-long fighting in Waziristan.
Security officials in Miranshah, however, insisted that no militant whether pro- or anti-Pakistan would be spared in the operation.
They said the operation had been launched in phases and after cleansing Mir Ali and Miranshah, the troops would be sent to Dattakhel and other areas to restore the writ of the state.
Even those displaced from their native villages and living at a refugee camp in Bakkakhel in Frontier Region Bannu wanted the government to clear North Waziristan from all sorts of militants when they return home.
“We left our houses and villages only to enable our armed forces to eliminate all the militants in Waziristan. We want to see Waziristan cleared of militants when we return. It will shatter our trust if Gul Bahadur and other so-called pro-government Taliban are still around,” said one Farmanullah Khan, displaced from Mir Ali.
AFP adds: A senior security official said the drone fired eight missiles on a compound around 2:00am on Saturday killing 11 members of the Punjabi Taliban.
The official said the dead included two “important” commanders of the Pakistani Taliban, but he refused to reveal their identities.
NNI adds from Islamabad: Pakistan condemned the US drone strike in North Waziristan which killed at least 11 persons on Saturday.
“The Government of Pakistan condemns the incident of the US drone strike that took place near Miranshah in North Waziristan during the early hours of Saturday, which led to many casualties,” the Foreign Office said.
“Pakistan regards such strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a Foreign Office statement said hours after the drone attack was launched at a time when Pakistani forces are involved in a major offensive against the militants in North Waziristan.
The FO said these US strikes have a negative impact on the government’s efforts to bring peace and stability to Pakistan and the region.
The US has increased drone strikes since the Pakistani forces started its major operation on June 15.
