Unmanned aircraft
July 12, 2011
A US unmanned drone aircraft first fired two missiles into a vehicle in the village of Datta Khel in North Waziristan on Monday, according to an intelligence official who spoke to news agencies on condition of anonymity.
It later reportedly fired eight missiles into a rebel compound in the same area, demolishing the building. Twenty bodies were pulled out of the debris, as well as 10 critically injured people, the official added.
North Waziristan is one of seven tribal districts where the Taliban and al Qaeda are thought to have hideouts.
People scared
On Tuesday, another strike took place in South Waziristan. Eight people are said to have died when two missiles were fired into a vehicle in the Busnarai area, which is not far from the border with Afghanistan.
Meanwhile in Drae Nishtar in North Waziristan another vehicle and compound were targeted.
"Eight to 10 drones took part in the attack," a security official told agencies. "They fired two missiles on a vehicle and two more on a compound. According to initial information, 15 people died in the strike."
Drones continued to fly in the area on Tuesday, local officials said, adding that people were scared.
Drone attacks are constant source of tension
The identities of those killed were not immediately clear; however a security official told AFP that the area which had been mostly targeted was considered a stronghold of militant commander Mullah Nazir.
Pakistan has repeatedly called for an end to the drone strikes, which the US never confirms. However, the US military and the CIA are the only forces in the region to deploy the armed, unmanned Predator aircraft in the region.
There have been over 20 suspected US drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal belt since al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in a US raid in Abbottabad on May 2. Relations between Islamabad and Washington have deteriorated sharply since then.
On Monday, in response to an announcement by the White House chief of staff to make significant cutbacks to US security assistance to Pakistan, the Pakistani military said it was capable of fighting Islamic insurgents without help from Washington.
Author: Anne Thomas (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan