Drone attacks in Pakistan
Encyclopedia
The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency
's Special Activities Division
, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan
since 2004 using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism
campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda
militants in Pakistan. Most of these attacks are on targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
along the Afghan border
in Northwest Pakistan.
These strikes are carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and have increased substantially under the Presidency of Barack Obama
. Generally the UAVs used are MQ-1 Predator and more recently MQ-9 Reaper
firing AGM-114 Hellfire
missiles. The drones have become a weapon of choice for the United States in the fight against al-Qaeda. Some media refer to the series of attacks as a "drone war".
Pakistan's government publicly condemns these attacks but has secretly shared intelligence with Americans and also allegedly allowed the drones to operate from Shamsi Airfield
in Pakistan until 21 April 2011 when 150 Americans left the base.
Assessments of the results of the attacks differ. Daniel Byman from the Brookings Institution
suggests that drone strikes may kill "10 or so civilians" for every militant killed. In contrast, the New America Foundation
has estimated that 80 percent of those killed in the attacks were militants. The Pakistani military has stated that most of those killed were hardcore Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
based on extensive research found that at least 385 civilians were among the dead out of a total of between 1658 and 2597 killed. The CIA believes that the strikes conducted since May 2010 have killed over 600 militants and not caused any civilian fatalities.
According to secret cables leaked by Wikileaks
Pakistan's Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
not only tacitly agreed to the drone flights but in 2008 requested Americans to increase them. However Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik
said "Drone missiles cause collateral damage. A few militants are killed, but the majority of victims are innocent citizens," The strikes are often linked to Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and the growing questionability of the scope and extent of CIA activities in Pakistan
.
The British human rights group Reprieve is threatening litigation to oppose U.S. drone strikes.
In January 2010, al Qaeda in Pakistan announced that Lashkar al-Zil
leader Abdullah Said al Libi
was killed in a drone missile strike. Neither al Qaeda nor the US has revealed the date of the attack which killed Libi, but it appears to have taken place in December 2009.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
claimed that at least 900 people in total were killed in US drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas.
authorized the continuation of these strikes after he became US president. Top US officials consider these strikes very successful and believe that the senior al-Qaeda leadership has been 'decimated' by these strikes. A list of the high-ranking victims of the drones was provided to Pakistan in 2009. Obama has broadened these attacks to include targets seeking to destabilize Pakistani civilian government and the attacks of 14 and 16 February 2009 were against training camps run by Baitullah Mehsud
. On 25 February 2009 Leon Panetta
, the director of the CIA indicated the strikes will continue. On 4 March 2009 The Washington Times
reported that the drones were targeting Baitullah Mehsud. Obama was reported in March 2009 as considering expanding these strikes to include Balochistan
On 25 March 2010 US State Department legal advisor Harold Koh stated that the drone strikes were legal because of the right to self-defense. According to Koh, the US is involved in an armed conflict with al-Qaida, the Taliban, and their affiliates and therefore may use force consistent with self-defense under international law.
Former CIA officials state that the agency uses a careful screening process in making decisions on which individuals to kill via drone strikes. The process, carried out at the agency's counterterrorist center, involves up to 10 lawyers who write briefs justifying the targeting of specific individuals. According to the former officials, if the briefs' arguments are weak, the request to target the individual is denied. Since 2008 the CIA has relied less on its list of individuals and increasingly targeted "signatures," or suspect behavior. This change in tactics has resulted in fewer deaths of high-value targets and in more deaths of lower-level fighters, or "mere foot soldiers" as the one senior Pakistani official told the Washington Post.
US officials stated in March 2009 that the Predator strikes had killed nine of al-Qaeda's 20 top commanders. The officials added that many top Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders, as a result of the strikes, had fled to Quetta
or even further to Karachi
.
Some US politicians and academics have condemned the drone strikes. US Congressman Dennis Kucinich
asserted that the United States was violating international law
by carrying out strikes against a country that never attacked the United States. Georgetown University
professor Gary D. Solis
asserts that since the drone operators at the CIA are civilians directly engaged in armed conflict, this makes them "unlawful combatants" and possibly subject to prosecution.
US military reports asserted that al-Qaeda
is being slowly but systematically routed because of these attacks, and that they have served to sow the seeds of uncertainty and discord among their ranks. They also claimed that the drone attacks have addled and confused the Taliban, and have led them to turn against each other. In July 2009 it was reported that (according to US officials) Osama Bin Laden
's son Saad bin Laden
was believed to have been killed in a drone attack earlier in the year.
During a protest against drone attacks, in an event sponsored by Nevada Desert Experience
, Father Louie Vitale
, Kathy Kelly
, Stephen Kelly, SJ
, Eve Tetaz
, John Dear
, and others were arrested outside Creech Air Force Base
on Wednesday 9 April 2009.
In May 2009 it was reported that the USA was sharing drone intelligence with Pakistan. Leon Panetta
reiterated on 19 May 2009 that the US intended to continue the drone attacks.
In December 2009 expansion of the drone attacks was authorized by President Barack Obama
to parallel the decision to send 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan. Senior US officials are reportedly pushing for extending the strikes into Quetta
in Balochistan
against the Quetta Shura
. Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad
on 7 January 2010 Senators John McCain
and Joe Lieberman
stated the drone attacks were effective and would continue but stated that US would make greater efforts to prevent collateral damage
. In an effort to strengthen trust with Pakistan 'US sharing drone surveillance data with Pakistan, says Mike Mullen '
US defence budget for 2011 asked for a 75% increase in funds to enhance the drone operations.
The Associated Press
(AP) noted that Barack Obama apparently expanded the scope and increased the aggressiveness of the drone campaign against militants in Pakistan after taking office. According to the news agency, the US increased strikes against the Pakistani Taliban, which earned favor from the Pakistani government, resulting in increased cooperation from Pakistani intelligence services. Also, the Obama administration toned down the US government's public rhetoric against Islamic terrorism, garnering better cooperation from other Islamic governments. Furthermore, with the drawdown of the war in Iraq, more drones, support personnel, and intelligence assets became available for the campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since Obama took office, according to the AP, the number of drones operated by the CIA over Afghanistan and Pakistan doubled. A May 2010 Reuters
report quoted unnamed counterterrorism officials who speculated that the Obama administration's closure of the secret CIA interrogation centers and intent to close the Guantanamo Bay prison was a direct influence on the expansion of the drone targeted killings. According to the officials, the killings are necessary because there is no longer any place to put captured terrorists.
A study called 'The Year of the Drone" published in February 2010 by New America Foundation
found that in a total of 114 drone strikes in Pakistan between 2004 and early 2010 approximately between 834 and 1,216 individuals had been killed, about two thirds of whom were thought to be militants and one third were civilians.
On 28 April 2011, president Barack Obama
appointed General David Petraeus
as director of the CIA overseeing the drone attacks. According to Pakistani and American officials this could further inflame relations between the two nations.
According to the Washington Post, as of September 2011, around 30 Predator and Reaper drones were operating under CIA direction in the Afghanistan/Pakistan area of operations. The drones are flown by United States Air Force
pilots located at an unnamed base in the United States. US Department of Defense armed drones, which also sometimes take part in strikes on terrorist targets, are flown by US Air Force pilots located at Creech Air Force Base
and Holloman Air Force Base
. The CIA drones are operated by an office called the Pakistan-Afghanistan Department, which operates under the CIA's Counterterrorism Center (CTC), based at CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia. As of September 2011, the CTC had about 2,000 people on staff.
Pakistan has repeatedly protested these attacks as they are an infringement of its sovereignty
and because civilian deaths have also resulted, including women and children, which has further angered the Pakistani government and people. General David Petraeus
was told in November 2008 that these strikes were unhelpful. However on 4 October 2008 The Washington Post
reported that there was a secret deal between the US and Pakistan allowing these drone attacks. US Senator Dianne Feinstein
said in February 2009: “As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base.” Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
denied that this was true.
On 28 September, a spokesman for the Pakistani army condemned Washington's killing of Pakistani civilians and warned of retaliatory action: "Border violations by US-led forces in Afghanistan, which have killed scores of Pakistani civilians, would no longer be tolerated, and we have informed them that we reserve the right to self defense and that we will retaliate if the US continues cross-border attacks." When the Soviets were in Afghanistan, the potent Pakistani Air Force shot down any Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan.
The British newspaper The Times
stated on 18 February 2009 that the CIA was using Shamsi Airfield
, 190 miles (305.8 km) southwest of Quetta
and 30 miles (48.3 km) from the Afghan border, as its base for drone operations. Safar Khan, a journalist based in the area near Shamsi, told the Times, "We can see the planes flying from the base. The area around the base is a high-security zone and no one is allowed there."
Top US officials confirmed to Fox News Channel
that Shamsi Airfield had been used by the CIA to launch the drones since 2002.
The drone attacks continue, despite repeated requests made by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari
through different channels. Baitullah Mehsud
while claiming responsibility for the 2009 Lahore police academy attacks
, stated that it was in retaliation for the drone attacks. According to The Daily Telegraph
, Pakistani intelligence has agreed to secretly provide information to the United States on Mehsud's and his militants' whereabouts while publicly the Pakistani government will continue to condemn the attacks.
On 28 April 2009 Pakistan's consul general to the US, Aqil Nadeem, asked the US to hand over control of its drones in Pakistan to his government. Said Nadeem, "Do we want to lose the war on terror or do we want to keep those weapons classified? If the American government insists on our true cooperation, then they should also be helping us in fighting those terrorists." President Zardari has also requested that Pakistan be given control over the drones but this has been rejected by the US who are worried that Pakistanis will leak information about targets to militants. In December 2009 Pakistan's Defence minister Ahmad Mukhtar acknowledged that Americans were using Shamsi Airfield but stated that Pakistan was not satisfied with payments for using the facility.
In an analysis published in Daily Times on 2 January 2010 author Farhat Taj challenged the view that the local people of Waziristan were against the drone attacks. Author states on the basis of personal interviews with people in Waziristan that the locals in Waziristan support the attacks and see the drones as their 'liberators' from the clutches of Taliban and Pakistan's Intelligence agencies. She further challenged the government of Pakistan to provide accurate figures about the 'civilian' casualties and tell what methodology was used to collect this data. According to her 'The people of Waziristan are suffering a brutal kind of occupation under the Taliban and al Qaeda. It is in this context that they would welcome anyone, Americans, Israelis, Indians or even the devil
, to rid them of the Taliban and al Qaeda.' In response to this analysis Irfan Husain
writing in Dawn
agreed with her assessment and called for more drone attacks. He wrote 'We need to wake up to the reality that the enemy has grown very strong in the years we temporized and tried to do deals with them. Clearly, we need allies in this fight. Howling at the moon is not going to get us the cooperation we so desperately need. A solid case can be made for more drone attacks, not less.
In December 2010 the CIA's Station Chief in Islamabad operating under the alias Jonathan Banks was hastily pulled from the country. Lawsuits filed by families of victims of drone strikes had named Banks as a defendant, he had been receiving death threats, and a Pakistani journalist whose brother and son died in a drone strike called for prosecuting Banks for murder.
In March 2011 the General Officer Commanding
of 7th division
of Pakistani Army
, Major General Ghayur Mehmood delivered a briefing "Myths and rumours about US predator strikes" in Miramshah. He said that most of those who were killed by the drone strikes were Al-qaeda and Taliban terrorists. Military’s official paper on the attacks till 7 March 2011 said that between 2007 and 2011 about 164 predator strikes had been carried out and over 964 terrorists had been killed. Those killed included 793 locals and 171 foreigners. The foreigners included Arabs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Chechens, Filipinos and Moroccans.
's home after his death
in 2011, including one from then al Qaeda No. 3, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman
reportedly, according to the Agence France-Presse
and the Washington Post, expressed frustration with the drone strikes in Pakistan. According to an unnamed U.S. Government official, in his message al-Rahman complained that drone-launched missiles were killing al Qaeda operatives faster than they could be replaced.
In June and July 2011, law enforcement authorities found messages on al Qaeda-linked websites calling for attacks against executives of drone aircraft manufacturer AeroVironment
. Law enforcement believed that the messages were in response to calls for action against Americans by Adam Yahiye Gadahn
.
(UNHRC) delivered a report sharply critical of US tactics. The report asserted that the US government has failed to keep track of civilian casualties of its military operations, including the drone attacks, and to provide means for citizens of affected nations to obtain information about the casualties and any legal inquests regarding them. Any such information held by the U.S. military is allegedly inaccessible to the public due to the high level of secrecy surrounding the drone attacks program. The US representative at UNHRC has argued that the UN investigator for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions does not have jurisdiction over US military actions, while another US diplomat claimed that the US military is investigating any wrongdoing and doing all it can to furnish information about the deaths.
On 27 October 2009 UNHRC investigator Philip Alston
called on the US to demonstrate that it was not randomly killing people in violation of international law through its use of drones on the Afghan border. Alston criticized the US's refusal to respond to date to the UN's concerns. Said Alston, "Otherwise you have the really problematic bottom line, which is that the Central Intelligence Agency is running a program that is killing significant numbers of people and there is absolutely no accountability in terms of the relevant international laws."
On 2 June 2010 Alston's team released a report on its investigation into the drone strikes, criticizing the United States for being, "the most prolific user of targeted killings" in the world. Alston, however, acknowledged that the drone attacks may be justified under the right to self-defense. He called on the US to be more open about the program. Alston's report was submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
the following day.
conducted a survey of the public opinion about the drone strikes in Federally Administered Tribal Areas
. 5 teams of 5 researchers each interviewed a total of 550 people from all walks of life. Most people thought that the drone attacks were accurate and did not lead to anti-American sentiment and were effective in damaging the militants.
Based on the responses the researchers concluded 'The popular notion outside the Pakhtun belt that a large majority of the local population supports the Taliban movement lacks substance'. Most people thought that the drone attacks were accurate and did not lead to anti-American sentiment and were effective in damaging the militants. In addition the locals wanted the Pakistani forces to also target the militants. According to Farhat Taj a member of AIRRA the drones have never killed any civilians. Some people in Waziristan compare the drones to Ababils, the holy swallows sent by God to avenge Abraha
, the invader of the Khana Kaaba.
In an analysis published in Daily Times (Pakistan) on 2 January 2010 Farhat Taj, a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research, University of Oslo
and a member of Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy
discussed the issue of drone attacks with hundreds of people of Waziristan
. She claims that they see the US drone attacks as their liberators from the clutches of Islamist militiants into which, they say, their state has wilfully thrown them. She claims that estimates about civilian casualties in the US and Pakistani media are wrong because after every attack Islamist militiants cordon off the area and no one, including the local villagers, is allowed to come even near the targeted place. The militants themselves collect the bodies, bury the dead and then issue the statement that all of them were innocent civilians. However, according to the people of Waziristan, the only civilians who have been killed so far in the drone attacks are women or children of the militants in whose houses/compounds they hold meetings. But that used to happen in the past and now they don’t hold meetings at places where women and children of the militants reside. In one case when the funeral procession of an Islamist commander was hit and some civilians were killed. But after the attack people got the excuse of not attending the funeral of slain militants or offering them food.
Farhat Taj claims that locals usually appreciate drone attacks when they compare it with the Pakistan Army’s attacks, which always result in collateral damage
.
People said that when a drone would hover over the skies, they wouldn’t be disturbed and would carry on their usual business because they would be sure that it does not target the civilians, but the same people would run for shelter when a Pakistani jet would appear in the skies because of its indiscriminate firing. They say that even in the same compound only the exact room – where a high value target (HVT) is present – is targeted and others in the same compound are spared.
In response to this analysis Irfan Husain
writing in Dawn
agreed with Farhat Taj's assessment and called for more drone attacks. He wrote: "We need to wake up to the reality that the enemy has grown very strong in the years we temporized and tried to do deals with them. Clearly, we need allies in this fight. Howling at the moon is not going to get us the cooperation we so desperately need. A solid case can be made for more drone attacks, not less."
or Scorpion, are reportedly about the size of a violin case (21 inches long) and weigh 16 kg. The missiles are used in combination with new technology intended to increase accuracy and expand surveillance, including the use of small, unarmed surveillance drones to exactly pinpoint the location of targets. These "micro-UAVs" (unmanned aerial vehicles) can be roughly the size of a pizza platter and meant to monitor potential targets at close range, for hours or days at a time. One former U.S. official who worked with micro-UAVs said that they can be almost impossible to detect at night. "It can be outside your window and you won't hear a whisper," the official said. The drone operators also have changed to trying to target insurgents in vehicles rather than residences to reduce the chances of civilian casualties.
A January 2011 report by Bloomberg
stated that civilian casualties in the strikes had apparently decreased. According to the report, the U.S. Government believed that 1,300 militants and only 30 civilians had been killed in drone strikes since mid-2008, with no civilians killed since August 2010.
On 14 July 2009, Daniel L. Byman of the Brookings Institution
stated that although accurate data on the results of drone strikes is difficult to obtain, it seemed that ten civilians had died in the drone attacks for every militant killed. He suggested that drone strikes may kill "10 or so civilians" for every militant killed, which would represent a civilian to combatant casualty ratio of 10:1. Byman argues that civilian killings constitute a humanitarian tragedy and create dangerous political problems, including damage to the legitimacy of the Pakistani government and alienation of the Pakistani populace from America. He suggested that the real answer to halting al-Qaeda's activity in Pakistan will be long-term support of Pakistan's counterinsurgency efforts.
United States officials claim that interviews with locals do not provide accurate numbers of civilian casualties because relatives or acquaintances of the dead refuse to admit that the victims were involved in militant activities.
The CIA reportedly passed up three chances to kill militant leaders, including Sirajuddin Haqqani
, with drone missiles in 2010 because women and children were nearby. The New America Foundation
believes that between zero and 18 civilians have been killed in drone strikes since 23 August 2010 and that overall civilian casualties have decreased from 25% of the total in prior years to an estimated 6% in 2010. The Foundation estimates that between 277 and 435 non-combatants have died since 2004, out of 1,374 to 2,189 total deaths.
According to a report of the Islamabad-based Conflict Monitoring Center (CMC), as of 2011, more than 2000 persons have been killed, and most of those deaths are of innocent civilians. The CMC termed the CIA drone strikes as an "assassination campaign turning out to be revenge campaign", and showed that 2010 was the deadliest year so far as regards casualties resulting from drone attacks, with 134 strikes inflicting over 900 deaths.
According to the Long War Journal, as of mid-2011, the drone strikes in Pakistan since 2006 had killed 2,018 militants and 138 civilians. The New America Foundation
stated in mid-2011 that since 2004 2,551 people have been killed in the strikes, with 80% of those militants. The Foundation stated that 95% of those killed in 2010 were militants.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
based on extensive research found in mid-2011 that at least 385 civilians were among the dead, including more than 160 children.
The CIA has claimed that the strikes conducted between May 2010 and August 2011 killed over 600 militants and did not result in any civilian fatalities; this assessment has been criticized by Bill Roggio
from the Long War Journal and other commentators as being unrealistic. Unnamed American officials who spoke to the New York Times claimed that, as of August 2011, the drone campaign had killed over 2,000 militants and approximately 50 noncombatants.
An independent research site Pakistan Body Count run by Dr. Zeeshan-ul-hassan a full bright scholar keeping track of all the drone attacks claims that 2179 civilians were among the dead, out of which 12.4% were children and women .
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
's Special Activities Division
Special Activities Division
The Special Activities Division is a division in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service responsible for covert operations known as "special activities"...
, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
since 2004 using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
militants in Pakistan. Most of these attacks are on targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
along the Afghan border
Durand Line
The Durand Line refers to the porous international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has divided the ethnic Pashtuns . This poorly marked line is approximately long...
in Northwest Pakistan.
These strikes are carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and have increased substantially under the Presidency of Barack Obama
Presidency of Barack Obama
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009 when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election...
. Generally the UAVs used are MQ-1 Predator and more recently MQ-9 Reaper
MQ-9 Reaper
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle , capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for use by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, the CIA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Royal...
firing AGM-114 Hellfire
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile developed primarily for anti-armor use. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike capability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision...
missiles. The drones have become a weapon of choice for the United States in the fight against al-Qaeda. Some media refer to the series of attacks as a "drone war".
Pakistan's government publicly condemns these attacks but has secretly shared intelligence with Americans and also allegedly allowed the drones to operate from Shamsi Airfield
Shamsi airfield
PAF Base Shamsi, also called Bandari is a Pakistan Air Force airbase located near Washki in the Balochistan province of Pakistan....
in Pakistan until 21 April 2011 when 150 Americans left the base.
Assessments of the results of the attacks differ. Daniel Byman from the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
suggests that drone strikes may kill "10 or so civilians" for every militant killed. In contrast, the New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
has estimated that 80 percent of those killed in the attacks were militants. The Pakistani military has stated that most of those killed were hardcore Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Bureau of Investigative Journalism
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is a British not-for-profit news organisation backed by a number of prominent journalists. It is registered as a private, limited by guarantee, no share capital company. It was set up with the aim to produce and encourage independent serious investigations and...
based on extensive research found that at least 385 civilians were among the dead out of a total of between 1658 and 2597 killed. The CIA believes that the strikes conducted since May 2010 have killed over 600 militants and not caused any civilian fatalities.
According to secret cables leaked by Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
Pakistan's Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, NI, HI is a four-star general in the Pakistan Army, and the current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. He replaced General Pervez Musharraf as the Chief of Army Staff and the commandant of the army on November 29, 2007...
not only tacitly agreed to the drone flights but in 2008 requested Americans to increase them. However Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Rehman Malik
27 April 2009 He has been the interior adviser since 27 March 2008.Senator A. Rehman Malik is a Pakistani politician, member of the Senate of Pakistan, and the current Interior Minister of Pakistan under the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani administration. His Second name is Shetan Malik and he...
said "Drone missiles cause collateral damage. A few militants are killed, but the majority of victims are innocent citizens," The strikes are often linked to Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and the growing questionability of the scope and extent of CIA activities in Pakistan
CIA activities in Pakistan
The following is a list of alleged CIA activities in Pakistan.-Pakistan 1965:See Vietnam 1965: General Non-Communist Reactions for the US assessment of Pakistan's reaction to an escalation in Vietnam.-Pakistan 1979:...
.
The British human rights group Reprieve is threatening litigation to oppose U.S. drone strikes.
Statistics
| Year | Number ofAttacks | Number Killed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Min. | Max. | ||
| 2004 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 2005 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 2006 | 2 | 23 | 23 |
| 2007 | 4 | 56 | 77 |
| 2008 | 33 | 274 | 314 |
| 2009 | 53 | 369 | 725 |
| 2010 | 118 | 607 | 993 |
| 2011 | 70 | 378 | 536 |
| Total | 283 | 1,717 | 2,680 |
2004–2007
- 18 June 2004: 5 including Nek Muhammad WazirNek Muhammad WazirNek Muhammad Wazir was a charismatic Pashtun military leader.He was killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan, FATA, Pakistan in June, 2004...
killed in a strike near Wana, South WaziristanSouth WaziristanSouth Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
. - 14 May 2005: 2 killed including Haitham al-YemeniHaitham al-YemeniHaitham al-Yemeni was an al Qaeda explosives expert from Yemen. He was killed in North Waziristan, northwest Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border, in early March 2005 in a drone attack by an unmanned CIA-operated RQ-1 Predator aircraft...
in a strike near the Afghan border in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. - 30 November 2005: Al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
's 3rd in command, Abu Hamza RabiaAbu Hamza RabiaAbu Hamza Rabia was an Egyptian member of al-Qaeda, described in news accounts as a high-ranking leader within the organization's hierarchy. His death, in a surprise drone attack, was widely reported by media outlets around the world.According to American intelligence officials, Rabia was...
killed in an attack by CIA drones in Asoray, near MiranshahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
, the capital of North Waziristan along with 4 other militants. - 13 January 2006: Damadola airstrikeDamadola airstrikeOn 13 January 2006 the Central Intelligence Agency fired missiles into the Pakistani village of Damadola in the Bajaur tribal area, about seven kilometres from the Afghan border, killing at least 18 people. Originally the Bajaur tribal area government claimed that at least four foreign members...
kills 18 civilians in BajaurBajaurBajaur or Bajur or Bajour is an Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Smallest of the agencies in FATA, it has a hilly terrain. According to the 1998 census, the population was 595,227 but other more recent estimates it has grown to 757,000...
area but misses Ayman al-Zawahri. - 30 October 2006 Chenagai airstrikeChenagai airstrikeThe Chenagai airstrike took place on October 30, 2006, around 5:00 am. local time. Missiles were fired at a madrassa in Chenagai village in Bajaur region of Pakistan. An eyewitness has stated that the madrassa was filled with local students who had resumed studies after the Eid ul-Fitr holiday. 82...
allegedly aimed at Ayman al-Zawahri destroys a madrassa in BajaurBajaurBajaur or Bajur or Bajour is an Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Smallest of the agencies in FATA, it has a hilly terrain. According to the 1998 census, the population was 595,227 but other more recent estimates it has grown to 757,000...
area and kills 70–80 civilians. - 16 January 2007: Up to 30 Taliban killed in a drone strike in Salamat Keley, Zamazola, South Waziristan.
- 26 April 2007: 4 killed in the village of Saidgi in North Waziristan
- 19 June 2007: 30 killed in the village of Mami Rogha in North Waziristan
- 2 November 2007: 5 killed in an attack on a madrasahMadrasahMadrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
in North Waziristan
2008
- 29 January 2008: Al-Qaeda's Abu Laith al-LibiAbu Laith al-LibiAbu Laith al-Libi was a senior leader of the al-Qaeda movement in Afghanistan who appeared in several al-Qaeda videos. He was believed to have been active in the tribal regions of Waziristan. He also served as an al Qaeda spokesman...
killed in a strike in North Waziristan along with 11 other militants. - 27 February 2008: 12 people killed in a strike near KaloshaKaloshaKalosha is a village in South Waziristan, Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan. It was the location of a missile attack that killed 12 people on 28 February 2008....
village in South Waziristan. - 18 March 2008: 16 killed in a strike in South Waziristan
- 14 May 2008: 12 including Abu Sulayman Al-Jazairi killed near village of DamadolaDamadolaDamadola is a village in the Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan, about from the Afghanistan border, it is located at 34° 48' 20N 71° 28' 0E at an altitude of 1082 metres . The village gained international attention in early 2006 after the U.S. launched an...
, Bajaur. - 14 June 2008: US drones fired three missiles at a potential hideout of TTP leader Meshud, killing one person.
- 28 July 2008: Midhat MursiMidhat MursiMidhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, known as Abu Khabab al-Masri was a chemist and alleged top bomb maker for al-Qaeda and part of Osama bin-Laden's inner circle. The United States had a US$5 million bounty on his head. Although reportedly killed in a U.S...
and 5 other Al-Qaeda operatives killed in South Waziristan. - 12 August 2008: Nine killed in four strikes in the area near Angore Adda in South Waziristan during a meeting of militants.
- 13 August 2008: US drone strike on a compound run by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar killed Taliban commander Abdul Rehman, along with Islam Wazir, three Turkmen, and several Arab fighters. Up to 25 militants were killed in this strike.
- 20 August 2008: US drones fire two missiles that hit a compound in South Waziristan, killing 8 militants.
- 30 August 2008: Missile strike on Al-Qaeda training camp in South Waziristan kills two militants carrying Canadian passports.
- 31 August 2008: US drones destroy a house in Tappi village in Miranshah, killing 6 people and injuring 8 including 1 woman and 1 child.
- 4 September 2008: US drones fired missiles at a house in Char Khel in North Waziristan killing 4 people.
- 5 September 2008: US drones fire three missiles, destroying a house which was potentially hosting Arab foreign fighters, killing at least six.
- 8 September 2008: 23 killed in Daande Darpkhel airstrikeDaande Darpkhel airstrikeThe Daande Darpkhel airstrike took place on the morning of 8 September 2008 when a United States Air Force drone aircraft fired a number of missiles at a former madrassa complex located in the village of Daande Darpkhel, near the main town Miranshah, North Waziristan, Pakistan...
, near MiranshahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
, North Waziristan. - 12 September 2008: The Miranshah airstrikeMiranshah airstrikeThe Miranshah airstrike took place on Friday 12 September in Miranshah in North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan. It was part of a series of attacks targeting presumed militants, and was carried out by a United States Air Force drone aircraft...
kills 12 people including three women and two children. - 17 September 2008: US drone attack in Baghar Cheena region of South Waziristan kills 5 militants including Al Qaeda operative Abu Ubaydah al Tunisi.
- 23 September 2008 A US drone is reportedly shot down by Pakistani troops or local militia over a tribal area of Pakistan. US officials denied losing any aircraft.
- 30 September 2008: Six killed in a strike near Mir Ali, North Waziristan.
- 3 October 2008: Two drone attacks hours apart in Datta Khel region of North Waziristan kills 21 militants including 16 foreigners.
- 9 October 2008: US drone strike killed at least 6 militants including 3 Arabs in Tappi village near Miranshah, North Waziristan.
- 11 October 2008: US drone strike at a militant compound in North Waziristan kills 5 people and wounds 2 others.
- 16 October 2008: Senior Al-Qaeda leader Khalid HabibKhalid HabibKhalid Habib was an ascending member of al-Qaeda's central structure in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His nationality has been reported as Egyptian and as Moroccan ....
killed in a strike near Taparghai, South Waziristan, along with five other Al Qaeda or Taliban members. - 22 October 2008: 4 killed in a village near MiranshahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
by missiles fired from suspected US drone. - 26 October 2008: 20 killed in a strike in South Waziristan.
- 31 October 2008: Two missiles fired by US drones kills 7 in Wana, South Waziristan.
- 31 October 2008: 20 killed including Al-Qaeda operative Abu AkashAbu AkashAbu Akash was an Al-Qaeda operative who was killed in a Drone attack in Asori village in North Waziristan on October 31, 2008. He also was known by aliases Haji Akasha Khan, Abdur Rehman and Iraqi Malang. He was born in Iraq. He had come to notoriety in 2007 when he released a video calling for...
and Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim (alias Abu Jihad al-Masri) after 4 missiles hit Waziristan. - 7 November 2008: US drones fire four missiles, killing up to 14 militants in Kumsham, North Waziristan.
- 14 November 2008: 12 killed in a strike near Miranshah.
- 19 November 2008: Abdullah Azam al-Saudi and 4 other militants are killed in BannuBannuBannu is the principal city of the Bannu District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in ancient times; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded by Sir Herbert Edwardes in 1848,...
district. - 22 November 2008: British Al-Qaeda operative Rashid RaufRashid RaufRashid Rauf was an alleged Al-Qaeda operative. He was a dual citizen of Britain and Pakistan who was arrested in Bhawalpur, Pakistan in connection with the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot in August 2006, a day before some arrests were made in Britain...
and 4 others including Abu Zubair al-MasriAbu Zubair al-MasriAbu Zubair al-Masri was a top Al-Qaeda operative originally from Egypt. He was an explosives expert. He was killed in a Drone attack on November 22, 2008 in village of Ali Khel in North Waziristan. He was holding an operational meeting with 4 others including Rashid Rauf who also were killed...
killed in a strike in North Waziristan. - 29 November 2008: US drone strike on Miranshah, North Waziristan kills 3 people.
- 11 December 2008: US drone strike in Azam Warzak, South Waziristan, kills 7 militants.
- 15 December 2008: US drone strike in Tapi Tool region near Miram Shah, North Waziristan kills 2.
- 22 December 2008: At least 8 killed in South Waziristan by suspected US drone strike.
January to June
- 1 January 2009: 2 senior al-Qaeda leaders Usama al-KiniUsama Al-KiniUsama Al Kini — or Osama al-Kini — was a citizen of Kenya believed to have held a senior leadership role in Al Qaeda.According to a United States military spokesmen, Al-Kini was the head of Al Qaeda's operations in Pakistan. Al-Kini was on the FBI's most wanted list...
and Sheikh Ahmed Salim SwedanSheikh Ahmed Salim SwedanSheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan was a fugitive wanted in the United States as a participant in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. He was alleged to have purchased the Toyota and Nissan trucks used in the attacks, flying out of Nairobi to Karachi, Pakistan five days before the assault was launched...
killed in a missile strike by U.S. drones. - 2 January 2009: US drone strike in Ladha, South Waziristan kills 4 people.
- 23 January 2009: In the first attacks since Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
became U.S. presidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, at least 14 killed in Waziristan in 2 separate attacks by 5 missiles fired from drones. - 14 February 2009: More than 30 killed when two missiles are launched by drones near town of Makeen in South Waziristan.
- 16 February 2009: Strike in Kurram ValleyKurram ValleyKurram tribal agency is located in the FATA area of Pakistan. Geographically it covers Kurram Valley which is a beautiful valley in the northwestern part of Pakistan neighboring Afghanistan....
kills 30, reportedly at a Taliban training camp for fighters preparing to combat coalition forces in Afghanistan. - 1 March 2009: Strike in Sararogha village in South Waziristan kills 7 people.
- 7 March 2009: Taliban militants shot down one of the two UAVs over a village in South Waziristan.
- 12 March 2009: 24 killed in attack in Berju in Kurram Agency.
- 15 March 2009 4 killed in Jani KhelJani KhelJani Khel is a town and union council in Bannu District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It is located at 32°47'55N 70°30'23E and has an elevation of 336 metres ....
in Bannu districtBannu DistrictBannu District is one of the twenty four districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, it is represented in the provincial assembly by four MPAs. The chief city of the district is Bannu. The major industries are cloth weaving and the manufacture of cotton fabrics, machinery, and...
in North-West Frontier ProvinceNorth-West Frontier ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
. - 25 March 2009: 7 killed in attacks on 2 vehicles by two missiles in Makin area of South Waziristan at 6:30 pm.
- 26 March 2009: 4 killed in Essokhel area in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. - 1 April 2009: 14 killed in Orakzai AgencyOrakzai AgencyOrakzai Agency is one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It has a population of 450,000 and an area of .- History :The Orakzai tribes take their name, which literally means the lost son , from a romantic legend about their ancestor, Sikandar Shah, who was a prince from Iran,...
tribal area. - 4 April 2009: 13 killed in North Waziristan.
- 8 April 2009: 4 killed in attack on a vehicle in Gangi Khel in South Waziristan.
- 19 April 2009: At least 3 killed and 5 injured in an attack in South Waziristan
- 29 April 2009: US drone strike in Kanni Garam village in South Waziristan kills 6 people.
- 9 May 2009: US drone strike in Sararogha in South Waziristan kills 6 people.
- 12 May 2009: US drone strike in Sra Khawra village in South Waziristan kills 8 people.
- 16 May 2009: US drone strike in village of Sarkai Naki in North Waziristan kills 25 people.
- 14 June 2009: US drone strike on a vehicle in South Waziristan kills 5 people.
- 18 June 2009: Two US drone strikes in Shahalam village in South Waziristan kills at least 13 people.
- 23 June 2009: US drone strike in Neej Narai in South Waziristan kills at least 8 people.
- 23 June 2009: Makeen airstrike23 June 2009 Makeen airstrike23 June 2009 Makeen airstrike was an attack launched by United States drones on a funeral procession in the city of Makeen in South Waziristan, Pakistan. The attack targeted a funeral procession of militants killed earlier in the day in a prior similar strike by drones...
kills at least 80 but misses Baitullah MehsudBaitullah MehsudBaitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
in the town of MakeenMakeenMakeen or Makin, is a small town in South Waziristan, Pakistan, located on the Y-junction between Sararogha and Wana, just south of Razmak in North Waziristan. It is mainly populated by members of the Mehsud tribe. The Pakistani military has called it "the nerve center" of the Pakistani Taliban...
, many of which were attending the funerals of people killed in the air strikes earlier in the day.
July to December
- 3 July 2009: US Drone kills 17 people and injures a further 27.
- 7 July 2009: US drone strike in Zangarha in South Waziristan kills at least 12 people.
- 8 July 2009: US drone strike on a hideout in Karwan Manza area and on a vehicle convoy in South Waziristan kills at least 50 people.
- 10 July 2009: US drones take out a Taliban communication center killing between 5–8 militants in Painda Khel, South Waziristan.
- 17 July 2009: US drone strike on a house in North Waziristan kills 4 people.
- 5 August 2009: US drone strike in South Waziristan killed 12, including Baitullah MehsudBaitullah MehsudBaitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
, his wife, and his wife's parents. The kill was confirmed after weeks of uncertainty over their fate. - 11 August 2009: US drone strike in Ladda village, South Waziristan, kills 10.
- 21 August 2009: US drone strike on the village of Darpa Kheil, North Waziristan, reportedly targeting Sirajuddin HaqqaniSirajuddin HaqqaniSirajuddin "Siraj" Haqqani is a Pashtun warlord and military leader who fights against American and coalition forces from his base within North Waziristan in Pakistan, where it is claimed he provides shelter to Al Qaeda operatives...
kills at least 21 people. - 27 August 2009: US drone missile strike on the Tapar Ghai area in the Kanigram (Kanigoram) district in South Waziristan kills at 8 people. One of the dead was reportedly Tohir Yo‘ldoshTohir Yo‘ldoshTohir Yo‘ldosh, born Tohir Abduhalilovich Yo‘ldoshev , cofounded the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan , an Islamist organization active in Central Asia, with Juma Namangani in December 1991...
(Tahir Yuldash), leader of the Islamic Movement of UzbekistanIslamic Movement of UzbekistanThe Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
. - 8 September 2009: US drone fired missiles kill 10 in North Waziristan. The attack may have killed al Qaeda leaders Ilyas KashmiriIlyas Kashmiri (militant)Ilyas Kashmiri, also referred to as Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri and Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri , was a senior al-Qaeda member and leader of the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami He was also connected with the Soviet-Afghan war, the Kashmir conflict and attacks against India, Pakistan and the United States...
and Mustafa al Jaziri as well as three Punjabi militants and two or three local Taliban fighters. - 14 September 2009: US drone fired missile kills four people in a car 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Mir Ali in North Waziristan.
- 24 September 2009: US drone fired missile kills up to 12 people in the village of Dande Darpa Khel near Mir Ali.
- 29 September 2009: Two missile attacks take place. In the first, a drone attack reportedly killed six Taliban, including two Uzbek fighters and Taliban commander Irfan Mehsud, in a compound in Sararogha village, South Waziristan. In the second, a missile killed seven insurgents in a house in Dandey Darpakhel village, North Waziristan.
- 30 September 2009: US drones fire missiles at a Taliban compound and vehicle killing 8 in Novak, North Waziristan.
- 15 October 2009: US drone missile killed at least four people in North Waziristan.
- 21 October 2009: Alleged US drone missile killed two or three alleged militants in Spalaga, North Waziristan in territory controlled by Hafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
. One of those killed was reportedly Abu Ayyub al-Masri (not the same as Abu Ayyub al-MasriAbu Ayyub al-MasriAbu Ayyub al-Masri , also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir and other aliases , was an active combattant of al-Qaeda and at least a senior aide to former leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. When Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike on 7 June 2006, U.S...
, the Al-Qaeda in IraqAl-Qaeda in IraqAl-Qaeda in Iraq is a popular name for the Iraqi division of the international Salafi jihadi militant organization al-Qaeda. It is recognized as a part of the greater Iraqi insurgency....
leader), an explosives expert for Al Qaeda and a "Tier 1" target of US counterterrorism operations. - 24 October 2009: Alleged US drone strike killed 27, in Damadolla, inside Bajaur tribal agency. The 27 victims were reportedly a mix of Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives engaged in a planning and strategy meeting. The dead apparently included 11 "foreigners". One of those reported killed was Faqir MohammedFaqir MohammedFaqir Mohammed is a member of the Mohmand tribe and a deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban umbrella group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was born in Chopatra, in Bajaur Agency, Pakistan. He was reported as killed on March 5, 2010 during a helicopter gunship attack on militants by the Pakistani...
's nephew, Zahid and another was Mohammed's unnamed son-in-law. The meeting was apparently being held to decide on whether to reinforce South Wazaristan against Pakistani forces, which Mohammed advocates, or exploit recent successes in the Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan, which Al Qaeda wishes to do. - 5 November 2009: 2 killed in MiranshahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
town in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. - 18 November 2009: 4 killed and 5 injured in Shanakhora village of North Waziristan, 12 miles (19.3 km) south of MiranshahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
. - 20 November 2009: 8 killed in the Machikhel area near the town of Mir Ali.
- 8 December 2009: 3 killed in a car near MiranshahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, reportedly including 2 Al Qaeda members. Senior Al qaeda planner Saleh al-SomaliSaleh al-SomaliSaleh al-Somali is described as being an al Qaeda leader.He was killed by a missile fired from an unmanned predator drone on December 8, 2009.The missile strike was on a suspect compound in Janikhel village near Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas....
, from Somalia, is believed killed in this strike. - 9 December 2009: Six killed in Tanga, LadhaLadhaLadha is a subdivision in South Waziristan, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, located between Wanna and Razmak. Just south of Ladha is the village of Kaniguram, and to the north is the small town of Makin.- Attacks :...
, South Waziristan, reportedly consisting of four Al Qaeda and two Taliban members. - 17 December 2009: 17 killed in 2 separate attacks in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
in an area controlled by Hafiz Gul Bahadur. In the first attack, two missiles hit a car near Dosali, killing two. In the second attack, 10 missiles fired by five drones hit two compounds in Ambarshaga, killing 15 people. Unnamed sources stated that seven of the dead were "foreigners." The attack was aimed at Sheikh Saeed al Saudi, Osama bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
's brother-in-law and a member of al Qaeda's executive council, but al Saudi survived. The attack did kill Abdullah Said al LibiAbdullah Said al LibiAbdullah Said al-Libi is described as being an al Qaeda operational leader in Pakistan.According to Bill Roggio a missile fired from an unmanned predator drone killed Said al-Libi on 17 December 2009 in North Wazaristan.-References:...
, the commander of, and Zuhaib al Zahibi, a commander in, the Lashkar al-ZilLashkar al-ZilThe Lashkar al-Zil or Shadow Army is a paramilitary organization linked to al-Qaeda and descended from the 055 Brigade. According to Syed Saleem Shahzad, it "comprises the Pakistani Taliban, 313 Brigade, the Afghan Taliban, Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan and former Iraqi Republican Guards"...
. - 18 December 2009: 3 killed in an attack in Dattakhel region in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. - 26 December 2009: 13 killed in an attack in Saidgai village in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
- 30 December 2009: A suicide bomber killed at least six CIA officers and seriously injured six others at Forward Operating Base ChapmanCamp Chapman attackThe Camp Chapman attack was a suicide attack against Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan, on December 30, 2009. The base is located near the eastern Afghan city of Khost, in a stronghold of the Taliban movement...
in Afghanistan, which is used by the Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
to coordinate drone attacks in Pakistan. The Haqqani networkHaqqani networkThe Haqqani Network is an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Originating from Afghanistan during the mid-1970s, it was nurtured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence during the 1980s Soviet war in...
claimed responsibility. - 31 December 2009: Four killed in an attack in Machikhel village in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. According to The Frontier Post, senior Taliban leader and strong Haqqani ally Haji Omar Khan, brother of Arif KhanArif KhanArif Khan was a Pashtun leader from the village of Zakhel, Kunduz, Afghanistan. He was a military commander and governor of Kunduz province. He was reportedly killed on April 4, 2000. His brother Haji Omar Khan assumed his responsibilities.-External links:*...
, was killed in the strike along with the son of local tribal leader Karim Khan.
In January 2010, al Qaeda in Pakistan announced that Lashkar al-Zil
Lashkar al-Zil
The Lashkar al-Zil or Shadow Army is a paramilitary organization linked to al-Qaeda and descended from the 055 Brigade. According to Syed Saleem Shahzad, it "comprises the Pakistani Taliban, 313 Brigade, the Afghan Taliban, Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan and former Iraqi Republican Guards"...
leader Abdullah Said al Libi
Abdullah Said al Libi
Abdullah Said al-Libi is described as being an al Qaeda operational leader in Pakistan.According to Bill Roggio a missile fired from an unmanned predator drone killed Said al-Libi on 17 December 2009 in North Wazaristan.-References:...
was killed in a drone missile strike. Neither al Qaeda nor the US has revealed the date of the attack which killed Libi, but it appears to have taken place in December 2009.
January to March
- 1 January 2010: Missile strike on a vehicle near Ghundikala village in North Waziristan kills 3.
- 3 January 2010: 5 people including 3 Arabs killed in an attack on Mosakki village in North Waziristan.
- 6 January 2010: 2 separate missile strikes one hour apart kill approximately 35 people in Sanzalai village, North Waziristan.
- 8 January 2010: Missile strike in Tappi village in North Waziristan killed 5 people. It is alleged that all the militantMilitantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
s killed were local and were attached to Taliban Commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur. - 9 January 2010: 4 killed and three injured when 2 missiles are fired on a compound in village Ismail Khan in North Waziristan, territory of the Haqqani network. Mahmoud Mahdi Zeidan, bodyguard for al Qaeda leader Sayeed al-Masri, was reported killed in either the 8 or 9 January airstrike. Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim who was allegedly involved in hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73Pan Am Flight 73Pan Am Flight 73, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 747-121, was hijacked on September 5, 1986, while on the ground at Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed men of the Abu Nidal Organization...
in 1986 was also reported killed in this strike. - 13 January 2010: Missile strike in Pasalkot village in a compound formerly used as a religious school in North Waziristan killed 15 people among them 3 militant commanders. The apparent target of the strike was, Hakimullah MehsudHakimullah MehsudHakimullah Mehsud , born c. 1979 as Jamshed Mehsud and also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud , is the amir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan...
, who reportedly left the compound before the attack occurred. - 15 January 2010: Missile strike in Zannini village near Mir Ali in North Waziristan kills up to 15 people, probably including Abdul Basit Usman, an al-Qaeda terrorist.
- 15 January 2010: Second missile strike of the day kills 6 in Bichi village in North Waziristan.
- 17 January 2010: Missile strike in Shaktoi area of South Waziristan kills at least 20 people. The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah MehsudHakimullah MehsudHakimullah Mehsud , born c. 1979 as Jamshed Mehsud and also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud , is the amir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan...
sustained injuries in this attack. It was initially believed he died but it was later learned that he survived. - 19 January 2010: Two missiles fired at a compound and vehicle in Booya village of Datakhel sub-division, 35 km west of MiranshahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
, in North Waziristan kills 9 people. - 24 January 2010: A US drone crashes over North Waziristan, allegedly after being shot down by local tribesmen.
- 29 January 2010: 15 killed when drones fire 3 missiles on a compound belonging to Haqqani network in Muhammad Khel town in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. - 2 February 2010: Up to 8 US drones fired missiles at 4 different villages of North Waziristan killing at least 29 people.
- 14 February 2010: 5 killed in a strike near Mir Ali in North Waziristan.
- 15 February 2010: Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, leader of the Turkistani Islamic Party, is killed by a drone missile strike in North Waziristan.
- 17 February 2010: Three militantMilitantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
s killed by a missile strike near Tapi, Miramshah, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. One of those killed was reportedly Sheikh Mansoor, a commander in the Lashkar al Zil. - 18 February 2010: 4 killed in a strike in Northwest Waziristan including Mohammed Haqqani, the brother of Afghan Taliban commander SirajSirajuddin HaqqaniSirajuddin "Siraj" Haqqani is a Pashtun warlord and military leader who fights against American and coalition forces from his base within North Waziristan in Pakistan, where it is claimed he provides shelter to Al Qaeda operatives...
who leads the Haqqani networkHaqqani networkThe Haqqani Network is an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Originating from Afghanistan during the mid-1970s, it was nurtured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence during the 1980s Soviet war in...
. The missiles hit a vehicle belonging to Siraj that Mohammed was riding in, but Siraj was not in the vehicle at the time. Mohammed and Siraj were reportedly attending the funeral of Sheikh Mansoor, who had been killed by a drone strike the day before. - 24 February 2010: Missiles fired by a US drone killed at least 13 militants at a compound and at a vehicle in the Dargah Mandi area of North Waziristan. Among the dead include Bahadar Mansoor, head of Badar Mansoor group, and Rana Afzal, the man behind the FIA HQ bombing in LahoreOctober 2009 Lahore attacksThe October 2009 Lahore attacks were simultaneous assaults on three buildings across Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, on October 15, 2009, around 9:15 A.M. local time. The attacks killed 38 and wounded at least 20. One group of militants attacked the Regional Headquarters of the Federal Investigation...
. Mohammed Qari Zafar, the head of Lashkar-e-JhangviLashkar-e-JhangviLashkar-e-Jhangvi is a militant organization. Formed in 1996, it has operated in Pakistan since Sipah-e-Sahaba activist Riaz Basra broke away from the SSP over differences with his seniors...
and the person responsible for the 2002 and 2006 bombing of the U.S. consulate in KarachiKarachi consulate attacksThe Karachi consulate attacks are a string of attacks against and plots to attack against the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan during the War on Terrorism....
was thought to be killed in this Drone strike but it was later proved that he survived the attack. He died on 14 June 2010 when he accidentally touched some explosives which set them off killing him in the ensuing explosion in a guesthouse he was staying in North Waziristan. - 8 March 2010: Three missiles fired by US drone aircraft killed five militants and wounded three in Miranshah. It is alleged that Hussein al-Yemeni (also called Sadam Hussein Al Hussami), an Al Qaeda terrorist who planned the Camp Chapman attackCamp Chapman attackThe Camp Chapman attack was a suicide attack against Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan, on December 30, 2009. The base is located near the eastern Afghan city of Khost, in a stronghold of the Taliban movement...
died in this strike. - 10 March 2010: Missiles fired from drones struck a compound and three vehicles in the village of Mizar Madakhel in North Waziristan. The attack killed at least 12 and as many as 21 militants. Five drones reportedly attacked in two waves. First, four missiles struck and demolished the compound. After local militants cordoned off the area and began recovering bodies, a second volley of missiles struck. Hafiz Gul Bahadar, a local Taliban leader and chief of the North Waziristan Shura, may have been killed in the strike.
- 16 March 2010: Eight to ten militants were killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan's Datakhel area. The militants were reportedly al Qaeda fighters, mainly Afghan, but included two officials from Syria and Egypt.
- 17 March 2010: Two US Drone strikes killed 9 militants. In the first attack, the drones fired four missiles at a vehicle and a militant hide-out in Miranshah, killing six militants. About 50 minutes later, drones fired 3 missiles at a vehicle in Madakhel, killing 3 militants.
- 21 March 2010: US drone fires two missiles in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan killing at least eight people and injuring several others.
- 23 March 2010: US drones fired two missiles on a militant vehicle parked outside a compound in the suburbs of Miranshah in North Waziristan. At least six militants were killed and three others were wounded.
- 27 March 2010: Drone strike in Mir Ali in North Waziristan kills 4 militants.
- 30 March 2010: US drone fired three missiles, destroying a compound owned by Zamir Khan, a local tribesman, and used by militants in the city of Tapi in North Waziristan killing six militants.
April to June
- 12 April 2010: 2 missiles fired by a US drone kill 5 in North Waziristan.
- 14 April 2010: US drone strike targeting a vehicle killed up to 4 people and injuring 4 others in Anbarshaga area of North Waziristan. All of the dead and injured were Arab militants.
- 16 April 2010: US drones fired at least 7 missiles which hit two vehicles and a house in the Toolkhel area near Miramshah in North Waziristan killing 6 people and injuring 5 others.
- 24 April 2010: US drones kill 7 militants in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
in the village of Marsi Khel near Miramshah. - 26 April 2010: Three missiles from drones strike a compound in the Khushali Toorkhel area, about 25 km east of MiranshahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
, North Waziristan, killing four or five. A Pakistani security official stated that those killed were militant followers of local rebel commander Haleem Khan. The official added that Khan has ties to regional Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur. - 3 May 2010: 4 militantMilitantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
s are killed in a drone strike in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's... - 9 May 2010: 10 militantMilitantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
s are killed in a drone strike in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's... - 11 May 2010: At least 24 militantMilitantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
s are killed in two separate US drone strikes in which the US fired up to 18 missiles. The first strike occurred when missiles struck cars, homes and tents in the Doga area of North Waziristan killing up to 14 militants. Hours later another pair of missiles hit a compound in the Gorwek area of North Waziristan killing another 10 suspected insurgentInsurgentInsurgent, insurgents or insurgency can refer to:* The act of insurgency-Specific insurgencies:* Iraqi insurgency, uprising in Iraq* Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, uprising in India* Insurgency in North-East India...
s, including the brother of a reputed Taliban commander, Maulvi Kalam. - 15 May 2010: At least 15 killed in Khyber AgencyKhyber agencyKhyber is a tribal area in the FATA region of Pakistan. It is one of the eight tribal areas, better known as agencies in Pakistan. It ranges from the Tirah valley down to Peshawar...
in the first such strike in this area. - 21 May 2010: US drones fired two missiles on a compound used by Afghan warlord Hafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
and killed 10 people in Mohammad Khel, North Waziristan. Saeed al-MasriSaeed al-MasriMustafa Ahmed Muhammad Uthman Abu al-Yazid , better known as Saeed al-Masri or simply al-Masri , was an Egyptian who was alleged to have acted as the financial chief for al-Qaeda...
, the current 3rd in command of Al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
was killed in this strike along with his wife and 3 children. Other dead in this strike include two foreign militants, one of whom was reportedly Filipino. Five women and two children were reported injured. - 28 May 2010: US drone strike killed 11 militants and wounded three others in the Nazai Narai area of South Waziristan.
- 10 June 2010: US drone strike killed 3 people in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. - 11 June 2010: US drones fired 6 missiles on a housing compound near Miran ShahMiranshahMiranshah is the capital or headquarters of North Waziristan in Pakistan. It is the site of a town, which has s small airfield that was built by the British for World War II. The area in which Miranshah sits is extremely dangerous mainly due to Taliban activities and U.S. Drone...
at the Afghan-Pakistan border, killing 15 alleged militants. - 19 June 2010: US drone fired a missile striking a house in Haider Khel village near North Waziristan's Mir Ali town killing 16 militants. Al Qaeda leader Abu Ahmed Tarkash was among the dead.
- 26 June 2010:A US missile strike killed 7 militants in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border. The missile, fired by an unmanned drone, destroyed a house near Mir Ali in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. One of the dead men was a foreigner. - 27 June 2010: A drone strike in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
killed 5 militants. - 29 June 2010: US drone fired two missiles hitting a house near in Wana, South WaziristanWaziristanWaziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...
killing at least 8 militantMilitantThe word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
s including Hamza al-Jufi an Egyptian militant belonging to Al Qaeda.
July to September
- 15 July 2010: A drone strike in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
killed 14 suspected militants in a region under the control of Hafiz Gul Bahadar. - 24 July 2010: US drones fired two missiles at a militant compound in Nazai Narai area of South Waziristan killing 16 militants.
- 25 July 2010: US drones fired two missiles and hit a double-cabin pickup carrying militants in Shaktoi village in South Waziristan. Taliban sources said 14 militants were killed and two others were injured in the attack. The militants belonged to the Hakimullah Mehsud-led Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
- 25 July 2010: US drones launched their second strike of the day when two missiles hit a house where some militants were having dinner in Landikhel village of Srarogha Tehsil in South Waziristan. Four militants that belonged to TTP were killed and five others sustained injuries.
- 25 July 2010: US drones launched their unprecedented third strike on the same day when they fired two missiles at a house in Taipi village near Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, killing 7 suspected militants.
- 14 August 2010: US drone fired three missiles at a compound in Mir Ali, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, killing at least 13 militants including Taliban commander, Amir Moaviya. - 21 August 2010: A US drone strike near Miran Shah, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, kills 6 militants. - 23 August 2010: Missiles fired from US drones in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
kill 13 militants and seven civilians. Four women and three children are among the dead. - 27 August 2010: Missiles fired from US drones in the Kurram Agency hit 2 vehicle killing 5 suspected militants, the first such reported drone strike in the Kurram Agency.
- 3 September 2010: 2 separate drone strikes kill 12–15 suspected militants in North Waziristan. The first strike was near Miramshah, killing six "local" militants according to DawnDawn (newspaper)Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
. The second strike was near Data Khel, targeting the home of Gul Adam, and killed nine militants. SAMAA TVSAMAA TVSAMAA TV is a Pakistani news network.- Competitors :*Dunya News*Geo News*ARY News*Express News*Indus News*Waqt News- External links :*...
reported that a local Taliban commander named Inayatullah was reportedly killed in the strike. - 4 September 2010: US drones struck a compound in Datta Khel village in North Waziristan district killed eight militants including three foreign fighters.
- 6 September 2010: A US drone strike in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
kills 6 suspected militants. - 8 September 2010: US drones launch four separate attacks in a space of 24 hours. According to anonymous Pakistani intelligence officials: In the first attack, a house owned by Maulvi Azizullah, a member of the Haqqani network, in Dande Darpa Khel near Miranshah was struck killing at least 6 militants. In the second attack, drones fired missiles striking a car traveling a few miles from the border, killing four people associated with the Haqqani network. In the third attack, another house near the Miranshah area was struck killing another 4 militants. A few hours later US drones launched their fourth attack striking a compound outside Miranshah killing at least 6 militants and wounding 5 others. All told 24 militants have been killed in these 4 strikes. The strikes targeted the Islamic Jihad Group, which was planning terrorist attacks in Europe. An Islamic Jihad commander, Qureshi, who was training German operatives, was killed in the missile attacks. According to the Bureau of Investigative JournalismBureau of Investigative JournalismThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism is a British not-for-profit news organisation backed by a number of prominent journalists. It is registered as a private, limited by guarantee, no share capital company. It was set up with the aim to produce and encourage independent serious investigations and...
, one of the strikes also hit a noncombatant house belonging to Afghan refugee Din Mohammad, killing his son, nephew and two daughters. - 11 September 2010: A US drone strike on the house of Hafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
kills 5 suspected militants. - 13 September 2010: A US drone fires two missiles at a house in Shawal, North Waziristan, reportedly killing 13 militants.
- 14 September 2010: A US drone strike kills 12 militants in Dargah Mandi near Miran Shah, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. The numerous strikes in September are reportedly part of a campaign against the Haqqqni Network. The drone strikes in Pakistan against the network are meant to support concurrent special operations raids against the network's fighters in Afghanistan. Saifullah Haqqani, a Haqqani Network military commander in Afghanistan and a cousin of Siraj Haqqani, was reportedly killed in this day's strikes. - 15 September 2010: In an ongoing unprecedented drone offensive, a drone strike kills 4 militants in North Waziristan, including Saifullah Haqqani, first cousin of Haqqani Network leader Sirajuddin HaqqaniSirajuddin HaqqaniSirajuddin "Siraj" Haqqani is a Pashtun warlord and military leader who fights against American and coalition forces from his base within North Waziristan in Pakistan, where it is claimed he provides shelter to Al Qaeda operatives...
. - 16 September 2010: US drones fired missiles at a house in Datakhel area, killing six militants.
- 19 September 2010: US drones fire missiles at a house in Datta Khel, North Waziristan killing 5 militants.
- 20 September 2010: US drones launch two strikes killing a total of 12 militants in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, the first volley hit a vehicle in the Datakhel region killing 5, the second hit a house in Miran Shah killing 7. - 21 September 2010: A US drone strike kills 16 militants in the South-North Waziristan border region, including Taliban commander Mullah Shamsullah.
- 25 September 2010: A US drone fired three missiles hitting a vehicle killing 4 militants in Datta Khel village of North Waziristan. Among the dead was Sheikh Fateh Al Misri, Al-Qaeda's new 3rd in command. Al Misri was planning a major terrorist attack in London, Paris or Berlin by recruiting British Muslims who would then go on a shooting rampage throughout these cities similar to what transpired in Mumbai in November 2008. The plan was thought to be its final stages and the stepped up drone campaign in September was done to disrupt and eliminate the key planners of this terrorist attack.
- 26 September 2010: US drones launch two strikes against militants killing 7. In the first strike, drone fired three missiles at a house in Lwara Mandi village in Datta Khel, killing 3 militants. Minutes later, a drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in the same area, killing 4 militants.
- 27 September 2010: A US drone strike in Miran Shah, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, kills 6 militants. - 28 September 2010: US drone fired a missile at a compound Zeba village, west of Wana, South Waziristan killing 4 militants.
October to December
- 2 October 2010: US drones launch two separate strikes killing 17 militants. In the first attack drones fired two missiles at a house in Datta Khel killing 9 militants including 4 foreigners. The dead were members of the Badar Mansur group, which is closely affiliated with Al Qaeda. Four hours later another strike occurred in the same area on a convoy of vehicles and a house killing another 8 militants.
- 4 October 2010: US drones strike a mosque in Mirali, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, reportedly killing 8 suspected militants including 20 year old German citizen Bünyamin E. According to Der SpiegelDer SpiegelDer Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
several courts in Germany are investigation possible charges against the BNDBNDBND may stand for:* Bundesnachrichtendienst, German intelligence agency* Bank of North Dakota* Buy Nothing Day* Brunei dollar * BTEC National Diploma...
for passing on information to U.S. intelligence agencies that led to the killing of Bünyamin E. In May 2011 the German government announced that it would curbs terrorist intel flow to the U.S. to make sure that it would not be used in targeted killings of German citizen. - 6 October 2010: Two US drone strikes by Miran Shah, North Waziristan, kill a total of 11 militants.
- 7 October 2010: A US drone strike on a compound in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
kills 5 militants, included one of the Al-Qaeda leaders Atiyah Abd al-RahmanAtiyah Abd al-RahmanAtiyah Abd Al Rahman was reported by the US State Department to be a senior member of al-Qaeda and a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Ansar al-Sunna...
. - 8 October 2010: US drone strikes by Miran Shah, North Waziristan, kill a total of 6 militants according to an unnamed intelligence officials, who was not authorized to speak to the media.
- 10 October 2010: Drones fire 4 missiles on 2 vehicles and kill at least 8 militants in the Shewa District of North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. - 13 October 2010: Drone attacks kill 11 militants in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.
- 15 October 2010: Two US drone strikes kill 13 suspected militants. The first drone strike killed six suspected militants in North Waziristan's Machi Khel area. Officials said two missiles hit an alleged militant vehicle. Later this day the second drone strike killed 7 suspected militants in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.
- 18 October 2010: A drone strike in the Datta Khel area of North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
kills 6 militants. The strike may have also killed the 10-year-old son of Naeem Ullah, who lived next door. - 27 October 2010: Two US drone strikes 12 hours apart killed 7 militants. The first strike was on a house of militant Nasimullah Khan which killed 4 militants. The second strike was on a vehicle in Datta Khel kill which killed 3 militants.
- 28 October 2010: A US drone strike in the Datta Khel area kills 7 militants.
- 1 November 2010: US-operated drones fired four missiles at a house in the Mir Ali District of North Wazaristan, killing five or six suspected militants.
- 3 November 2010: US drones launch three separate attacks killing 13 militants. In the first attack, drones fired two missiles at a vehicle in the Qutab Khel area of Miran Shah killing 5 Uzbek militants. In the second attack, missiles struck a house and a vehicle in Khaso Khel village, near Mir Ali, killing 4 militants. In the third attack, four missiles were fired hitting a vehicle in Pai Khel village in Datta Khel town, killing 4 militants.
- 7 November 2010: Two US drones strikes kill a total 13 or 14 militants in the Miran Shah area of North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. In the first attack, drones struck a house and a vehicle in the town of Ghulam Khan, north of Miran Shah killing 9 militants. The second attack occurred an hour later in which drones stuck several vehicles in the neighboring town of Datta Khel, killing 4 militants. - 11 November 2010: A US drone strike kills 6 suspected militants in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. The militants were reportedly Haqqani Network fighters returning from operations in Khost Province, Afghanistan. - 13 November 2010: A US drone strike kills five people in the village of Ahmad Khel in the Mir Ali area in North Waziristan. A Geo NewsGEO NewsGeo News is a Karachi-based Pakistani news channel, fully owned and operated by Jang Group. The channel started its broadcasting in November 2005 and has millions of Urdu-language viewers around the world.- Popular Shows :...
correspondent reported from the attack site that the deceased seemed to be ordinary citizens, not terrorists. - 16 November 2010: Four drone-fired missiles hit a house and vehicle in Bangi Dar village of North Waziristan, killing 15 to 20 people, possibly including civilians.
- 19 November 2010: One US drone strike kills 3 suspected militants in the region of North Waziristan.
- 21 November 2010: A US drone strike near Miran Shah, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, kills 6 suspected militants. - 22 November 2010: A US drone strike fired missiles at a car and a motorcycle in North Waziristan killing 5 alleged militants.
- 26 November 2010: A US drone strike fired missiles at a vehicle in North Waziristan killing 4 alleged militants.
- 28 November 2010: US drone missiles strike a vehicle in Hasan Khel village, around 30 kilometers east of Miranshah. Initial reports indicated the strike killed 3 or 4 militants. Local officials, however, later reported that the suspected militants had survived the strike by fleeing the targeted vehicle after the first missile missed.
- 6 December 2010: A US drone strike in Khushali village, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, kills 5 people. The strike may have also killed two noncombatants. - 9 December 2010: At least four unknown people are killed by a US drone strike on a vehicle in Mir Ali, North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
according to anonymous Pakistani intelligence officials who suspect that they are militants. - 14 December 2010: At least four suspected militants were killed by a US drone strike on a vehicle in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. - 15 December 2010: US drone strike targeting a vehicle kills 7 suspected militants in Spin Drand area of Khyber according to anonymous Pakistani intelligence officials.
- 17 December 2010: At least 60 suspected militants were killed in 3 US drones strikes what is the highest death toll this year. According to security officials all the dead are suspected militants. – a claim that cannot be independently confirmed. The first strike occurred at a compound in Speen Drang where pro-Taliban militants from the Lashkar-e-IslamLashkar-e-IslamLashkar-e-Islam , literally Army of Islam also transliterated as Lashkar-e-Islami, Lashkar-i-Islam) is a militant organization active in and around Khyber Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. LeI was founded in 2004 by Mufti Munir Shakir...
group were holding a meeting killing over 32. The second strike occurred in Nakai, Khyber hitting a compound killing around 15. The last strike occurred at yet another compound in Sangana, Khyber killing 6. According to unnamed official sources 39 of the killed belonged to Lashkar-e-IslamLashkar-e-IslamLashkar-e-Islam , literally Army of Islam also transliterated as Lashkar-e-Islami, Lashkar-i-Islam) is a militant organization active in and around Khyber Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. LeI was founded in 2004 by Mufti Munir Shakir...
while 15 were Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Extremist commander Ibn Amin was also killed in these strikes. He was a Taliban commander for the Swat valley. - 27 December 2010: Two US drone strikes near Mir Ali area of North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
kill a total of 18 unknown people who were allegedly militants according to anonymous Pakistani intelligence officials. - 28 December 2010: Two US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal region Tuesday kill 17 people. The drones fired two missiles on a suspected militant hideout in the area of Ghulam Khan. Later, a suspected drone circled around the blast site and fired two more missiles. Six people were killed. The second attack was on an vehicle in the same area, killing four more people.
- 31 December 2010: US drone missile strike kills 8 people near the town of Ghulam Khan in the North Waziristan tribal agency according to Pakistani security officials who suspect that they are militants.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan , or HRCP, is an independent, non-profit organization, founded in 1987, which is not associated or affiliated with the government or any political party. It is committed to act with impartiality and objectivity in all matters...
claimed that at least 900 people in total were killed in US drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas.
January to April
- 1 January 2011: US drones launched 3 separate strikes killing 18 people. In the first strike, drones struck a vehicle and a suspected militant compound in Mandi Khel, near Mir Ali, North Waziristan killing 9 people who are believed to be militants according to anonymous Pakistani intelligence officials. In the second strike, drones killed 5 alleged Taliban insurgents. In the last strike, a vehicle was struck in Boya village, in Datta Khel, North Waziristan killing 4 people.
- 7 January 2011: According to anonymous Pakistani officials, a USA drone strike in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
killed at least four alleged militants. - 12 January 2011: US drones fired 4 missile at a compound in Haiderkhel village near the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan killing 6 people.
- 18 January 2011: A US drone strike kills at least five militants in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
according to anonymous Pakistani security officials. - 23 January 2011: According to anonymous Pakistani security officials, Three drone strikes killed around 13 suspected militants in North Waziristan. In the first strike, two missiles hit a vehicle and a house in Doga Mada Khel village, killing four people. Hours later, another drone fired two more missiles, killing two people riding a motorcycle in the same village. In the third strike, a militant compound was struck at Mando Khel, 60 km south of Miram Shah near Razmak, North Waziristan killing 6 people. The same day around 2,000 tribesmen held a protest in Mir Ali, demanding an end to the drone strikes, saying they killed innocent civilians.
- 21 February 2011: Anonymous Pakistani intelligence officials announced that three drone-fired missiles demolished a house in the village of Kaza Panga, Azam Warsak district, South Waziristan killing seven suspected militants, including several Arabs and Turkmen. One of those killed was reported by Pakistani officials to be an Iraqi Al-qaeda finance coordinator named Abu Zaid al-Iraqi. Later that day, four missiles struck a house being used as a base by Taliban in the village of Spalga near Miran Shah in North Waziristan, killing eight suspected militants.
- 24 February 2011: Two separate strikes by drones kill 6 in North Waziristan.
- 8 March 2011: Drone strike in Landidog village in South Waziristan kills 5 militants according to Pakistani officials.
- 11 March 2011: 5 suspected militants killed in Ghorsaka area near Miranshah in North Waziristan.
- 13 March 2011: 2 missiles kill at least 6 people believed to be militants in Azam Warsak area of South Waziristan.
- 14 March 2011: 6 alleged militants killed near Miranshah in North Waziristan. Later in the day, another missile hit a vehicle near the Afghan border in Malik Jashdar in North Waziristan, killing three suspected militants.
- 16 March 2011: Unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials told AFP that a strike in Dattakhel in North Waziristan kills 5 militants. They also said that they do not know the identities of those killed in the strike.
- 17 March 2011: Forty-eight are killed and 50 wounded when several missiles fired from American drone aircraft hit a location in Datta Khel airstrikeDatta Khel airstrikeThe Datta Khel airstrike was an American airstrike carried out on 17 March 2011 in Datta Khel, North Waziristan that killed 44 people and led to widespread condemnation in Pakistan...
in North Waziristan. Those killed were mostly civilians involved in a jirga or dispute resolution council discussing a claim to a local chromiteChromiteChromite is an iron chromium oxide: FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. Magnesium can substitute for iron in variable amounts as it forms a solid solution with magnesiochromite ; substitution of aluminium occurs leading to hercynite .-Occurrence:Chromite is found in...
mine. Also killed were 12 Taliban helping adjudicate the meeting. Sherabat Khan Wazir, a top commander of Hafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
's Taliban faction, was killed in the strike, and in response Bahadur threatened to end the peace deal struck with the Pakistani government almost four years earlier. Ashfaq Parvez KayaniAshfaq Parvez KayaniGeneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, NI, HI is a four-star general in the Pakistan Army, and the current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. He replaced General Pervez Musharraf as the Chief of Army Staff and the commandant of the army on November 29, 2007...
said that the attack was a “complete violation of human rights” and that there were children under the death. Pakistani officials said the strike will intensify protests throughout Pakistan over the release of CIA contractor Raymond DavisRaymond Allen Davis incidentRaymond Allen Davis is a former United States Army soldier, private security firm employee, and contractor with the Central Intelligence Agency . On January 27, 2011, Davis killed two reportedly armed men in Lahore, Pakistan. Although the U.S. government contended that he was protected by...
. The Punjab AssemblyProvincial Assembly of the PunjabThe Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the province of Punjab, which is located in Lahore in eastern Pakistan...
unanimously passed a resolution condemning the strike and demanded that the national government take a clearer stance on the issue. Parliamentarian Marvi MemonMarvi MemonMarvi Memon ; is a politician from Karachi. She is a former Member of National Assembly of Pakistan.-Family and education:Marvi Memon's father, Nisar Memon is a prominent politician and Senator in Pakistan...
demanded to declare war on the United States. She suggested to order defence forces to launch a counter attack and said that it was the responsibility of the Pakistani government to protect its citizens. The dead noncombatants may have included members of the Pakistani government-employed Khassadar force. - 13 April 2011: Two aerial drones fired seven missiles in South Waziristan and killed six. Reports conflicted on the intended target. One report indicated that the attacks targeted members of a pro-army group led by Maulvi NazirMaulvi NazirMaulvi Nazir is a leading militant of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan.Nazir's operations are based around Wana.He is opposed to foreign influence, particularly Uzbek and American, in Waziristan...
although the deceased were said to be ordinary tribesmen unaffiliated with Nazir. The AFPAgence France-PresseAgence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
reported that the six dead were all Afghans and members of the Haqqani networkHaqqani networkThe Haqqani Network is an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Originating from Afghanistan during the mid-1970s, it was nurtured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence during the 1980s Soviet war in...
. Pakistan strongly condemned the attack and lodged a strong protest with US ambassador Cameron MunterCameron MunterCameron Phelps Munter is a United States diplomat and career foreign service officer. He is the Ambassador to Pakistan. Earlier, he was an advisor for political and military issues to Christopher R...
. The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad stated: "We have repeatedly said that such attacks are counterproductive and only contribute to strengthen the hands of the terrorists." Prime Minister Yousaf Raza GillaniYousaf Raza GillaniYousuf Raza Gilani is the current prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He was nominated as Prime Minister by the PPP, with the support of its coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League , Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, on 22 March 2008...
said that Pakistan was also seeking the intervention of friendly countries to get the U.S. to stop the drone attacks. An unnamed American government source stated that the CIA had no plans on stopping "operations" against terrorist suspects in Pakistan, saying, "Panetta has been clear with his Pakistani couterparts that his fundamental responsibility is to protect the American people, and he will not halt operations that support that objective". - 21 April 2011: At least 25 people, including 4 women and 5 children, were killed and about 10 other wounded in drone attacks in the Mir Ali area of North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. The target was a compound of houses belonging to the Hafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
group, a pro-army group in the tribal area. The women and children were in nearby houses. Days before the strike US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen clearly stated that North Waziristan is the hot bed for terrorists and accused Pakistan of not doing enough to combat militants. The Pakistani army rejected this as "negative propaganda" and Chief of Army Staff general Ashfaq Parvez KayaniAshfaq Parvez KayaniGeneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, NI, HI is a four-star general in the Pakistan Army, and the current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. He replaced General Pervez Musharraf as the Chief of Army Staff and the commandant of the army on November 29, 2007...
said: "In the war against terrorism, our officers and soldiers have made great sacrifices and have achieved tremendous success. The terrorists' backbone has been broken and Inshallah (God willing) we will soon prevail." The day after the attack Pakistan stops U.S using Shamsi Air BaseShamsi airfieldPAF Base Shamsi, also called Bandari is a Pakistan Air Force airbase located near Washki in the Balochistan province of Pakistan....
in Pakistan's Balochistan Province to fly drones. A senior military official told NBC NewsNBC NewsNBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
. "Yes I can confirm that Shamsi Air Base is no more under the use of Americans and the 150 Americans previously stationed there are now gone," The base had been used for some time by the U.S to launch unmanned Predator drones against terrorist targets.
May to August
- 6 May 2011: 12–15 people killed and several injured at Dua Toi in the Datta Khel area 30 miles west of Miram Shah, North Waziristan in the first such attack since the killing of Osama Bin LadenDeath of Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
. An unnamed Pakistani official said the missiles hit a car and a compound belonging to Hafiz Gul Bahadar, and that four of those killed were "foreigners". British and Pakistani journalists report that, in addition to 12 militants, the strike killed six civilians named Samad, Jamshed, Daraz, Iqbal, Noor Nawaz and Yousaf. - 10 May 2011: 4 suspected militants killed in an attack near Angoor Adda village in South Waziristan. According to Public MultimediaPublic MultimediaThe Long War Journal is an American news website, also described as a blog, which reports on the war on terror. The site is operated by Public Multimedia Incorporated , a non-profit media organization established in 2007. PMI is run by Paul Hanusz and Bill Roggio...
, two missiles hit a vehicle in village, wounding four others in addition to those killed. An unnamed Pakistani official said three of those killed were "Arabs". The area hit is under the control of Mullah Nazir. - 12 May 2011: 5–8 suspected militants killed when a US drone fired two missiles into a vehicle in Pakistan's tribal district of North Waziristan. The Long War JournalPublic MultimediaThe Long War Journal is an American news website, also described as a blog, which reports on the war on terror. The site is operated by Public Multimedia Incorporated , a non-profit media organization established in 2007. PMI is run by Paul Hanusz and Bill Roggio...
reported that Pakistani officials stated that some of those killed were "foreigners". - 13 May 2011: 5 killed when at least 4 missiles strike a vehicle in Doga Madakhel village of North Waziristan.
- 16 May 2011: 2 strikes in Mir Ali in North Waziristan kill 10 suspected militants.
- 20 May 2011: 2 missiles fired by drones kill 6 people in North Waziristan.
- 23 May 2011: Drone strike on a vehicle on the outskirts of Mir Ali in North Waziristan kills 7 suspected militants.
- 3 June 2011: Drone strike in Ghwakhwa area of South Waziristan kills 9 militants. Top ranking Al-qaeda militant Ilyas KashmiriIlyas Kashmiri (militant)Ilyas Kashmiri, also referred to as Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri and Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri , was a senior al-Qaeda member and leader of the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami He was also connected with the Soviet-Afghan war, the Kashmir conflict and attacks against India, Pakistan and the United States...
is reported killed. - 6 June 2011: Three drone strikes kill 16-21 people. Unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials claimed that they were suspected militants. Other witnesses said that some were "Arabs" and seven were civilians. CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
could not independently confirm the identities of the people killed. The Long War JournalPublic MultimediaThe Long War Journal is an American news website, also described as a blog, which reports on the war on terror. The site is operated by Public Multimedia Incorporated , a non-profit media organization established in 2007. PMI is run by Paul Hanusz and Bill Roggio...
reported that unnamed Pakistani officials stated that seven of those killed were "Punjabi Taliban" as well as several Arabs, Uzbeks, and one Turk. - 8 June 2011: Five missiles strike a militant compound in Zoi (or Zoynarai) village in Shawal region of North Waziristan, near the border with South Waziristan, killing 15-23 suspected militants". Senior unnamed Pakistani officials as well as local officials confirmed the strike. This claim that has not been independently verified as the media are denied access to the area. In response to a series of strikes against their group a spokesman for Taliban leader Maulvi NazirMaulvi NazirMaulvi Nazir is a leading militant of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan.Nazir's operations are based around Wana.He is opposed to foreign influence, particularly Uzbek and American, in Waziristan...
announced that his group would send more people into Afghanistan to fight U.S. forces as they had no capability to shoot down drones over South Waziristan. - 15 June 2011: Two strikes by drones in South Waziristan and one in North Waziristan kill 15 suspected militants according to Pakistani intelligence officials. According to The Long War Journal, the strike near Wana in South Waziristan reportedly killed 10 fighters from Mullah Nazir's army. In the other strike, near Miranshah in North Waziristan, five "militants" were killed.
- 20 June 2011: 9-12 suspected militants killed in the Kurram tribal area.
- 27 June 2011: Missile strikes from two US drones killed at least 21 suspected militants in Pakistan’s South Waziristan on Monday, Pakistani officials said. The first strike against a moving vehicle in Ghalmandi Panga village reportedly killed eight suspected militants. The second strike a few hours later reportedly hit a militant training center in Mantoi, killing 13 suspected millitants according to an intelligence official who declined to be identified. ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
stated that "There was no way to verify the deaths independently". - 29 June 2011: Pakistani government officials publicly ordered the US to remove all of its personnel from Shamsi AirfieldShamsi airfieldPAF Base Shamsi, also called Bandari is a Pakistan Air Force airbase located near Washki in the Balochistan province of Pakistan....
, reportedly still in use as a base for drone strikes. However unnamed U.S. officials told ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
that United States has rejected these demands and there are no plans to vacate the base. - 5 July 2011: Four killed and 5 injured in a strike on a militant hideout near Mir Ali in North Waziristan. According to two local TV station in Pakistan based on unnamed official sources, Saif Ullah, an Australian and al Qaeda supporter, was killed in the strike. However, there is no official confirmation for his death.
- 11 July 2011: Drone strikes near Gorvak village in North Waziristan kill 12 suspected militants according to Pakistani Intelligence officials. Over the next 24 hours several more attacks lead to the death of 45-61 suspected militants. The strikes sparked panic among people in the area and the death toll is the second highest since the beginning of the airstrikes.
- 12 July 2011: 23 suspected militants were killed in South WaziristanSouth WaziristanSouth Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
, followed by a drone strike on a vehicle in North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
, resulting in the deaths of 7 suspected militants, bringing the total death toll to 30. - 21 July 2011: 4 people were reportedly killed in a strike in Khushali Toori Khel area of North Waziristan.
- 1 August 2011: 4-6 alleged militants are killed and at least seven other people are injured when two vehicles are hit by two drone-launched missiles near Azam Warsak, 15 kilometers west of Wana, South Waziristan. According to Bill RoggioBill RoggioBill Roggio is an American commentator on military affairs.Roggio is notable for having his opinions quoted, or criticized, by a variety of newspapers and broadcasters.Roggio is currently the managing editor of The Long War Journal....
from the Long War Journal, that area is controlled by Taliban leader Mullah Nazir. - 10 August 2011: Two drone-launched missiles hit a house 3 km east of Miran Shah, North Waziristan, killing 21 militants, 14 of whom were members of the Haqqani Network. The rest of those killed were Arabs and Uzbeks, according to unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials who were not authorized to speak to the media.
- 16 August 2011: According to unnamed Pakistani officials 4 suspected militants were killed near Miranshah after 2 missiles fired by Drones. The identity of those killed is unclear.
- 19 August 2011: Four suspected militants killed in suspected drone attack in Sheen Warsik in South Waziristan according to Pakistani officials.
- 22 August 2011: According to unnamed Pakistani officials a suspected U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan killed 4 suspected militants including Al-Qaeda's second in command Atiyah Abd al-RahmanAtiyah Abd al-RahmanAtiyah Abd Al Rahman was reported by the US State Department to be a senior member of al-Qaeda and a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Ansar al-Sunna...
.
September to December
- 4 September 2011: 7 suspected militants killed in a drone strike in North Wazirstan.
- 11 September 2011: Abu Hafs al Shari, Al-Qaeda's operational chief and the replacement for Atiyah Abdel Rahman, who earlier died in a strike, was killed along with 3 other militants by a US drone strike on a vehicle and compound in Hisokhel in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.
- 12 September 2011: Two militants killed in a drone strike on their vehicle in the Esokhel area of North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
. One of the dead was reported to be Hafeezulla, a commander in the Haqqani networkHaqqani networkThe Haqqani Network is an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Originating from Afghanistan during the mid-1970s, it was nurtured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence during the 1980s Soviet war in...
. In another strike the same day three people were killed in an attack on a house near Mir Ali. - 23 September 2011: 6 Haqqani network insurgents, including 4 Central Asians, were killed in a drone strike on a house in North Waziristan.
- 27 September 2011: 3 people are killed in a strike on a house in Azam Warzak, South Waziristan. Unnamed security officials who were not authorized to talk with reporters said they were militants while other sources said the militants escaped. The village is in the territory of Taliban leader Mullah Nazir and reportedly, according to the Long War Journal, serves as a transit point for insurgent fighters into and out of Afghanistan. An initial report by the Agence France-PresseAgence France-PresseAgence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
had stated that the intended targets had fled the scene before the missiles hit and no one was killed. - 30 September 2011: 3 suspected militants killed in a strike Baghar Cheena area of South Waziristan. One of those killed may have been Haleem Ullah, deputy to Afghan warlord Maulvi Nazir, whose group helped facilitate al-Qaeda cross-border operations against Coalition forces in Afghanistan.
- 13 October 2011: Two separate drone strikes killed a total of seven suspected militants in Waziristan. The first strike in Dande Darpa Khel village in North Waziristan killed four including Jan Baz ZadranJan Baz ZadranJan Baz Zadran , also known as Jamil or Jalil Haqqani, was a top aide to Pashtun warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani...
, a logistics commander for the Haqqani network. The second strike killed three suspected militants in the town of Angoor Adda in South Waziristan who were launching rockets into Afghanistan. - 26 October 2011: A US drone strike in South Waziristan killed 13-22 militants, including Taj Gul Mehsud, a close aid to the TTP.
- 27 October 2011: A US drone strike targeted Maulvi NazirMaulvi NazirMaulvi Nazir is a leading militant of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan.Nazir's operations are based around Wana.He is opposed to foreign influence, particularly Uzbek and American, in Waziristan...
's faction of the Taliban in the Warsak area of South Waziristan. Four, including Nazir's younger brother, were killed.
- 27 October 2011: In a separate attack, a drone fired missiles into an alleged militant hideout near the North Waziristan town of Mir Ali, killing six men.
- 30 October 2011: Suspected US drones fired six missiles at a vehicle in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, killing six alleged militants.
- 31 October 2011: Three people including two boys, Tariq Aziz and his 12-year old cousin Waheed Khan were killed in a US drone strike in the Miranshah area North Waziristan. Prior his dead 16-year old Tariq Aziz had helped the Bureau of Investigative JournalismBureau of Investigative JournalismThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism is a British not-for-profit news organisation backed by a number of prominent journalists. It is registered as a private, limited by guarantee, no share capital company. It was set up with the aim to produce and encourage independent serious investigations and...
documenting civilian casualties caused by the drone strikes. Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford SmithClive Stafford SmithClive Adrian Stafford Smith OBE is a British [see talk] lawyer who specialises in the areas of civil rights and the death penalty in the United States of America....
said: "I met this lad Tariq last week, and he was no more a terrorist than my mother." - 3 November 2011: Three men, suspected as being Haqqani network militants, killed in North Waziristan.
- 15 November 2011: 6 or 7 suspected militants were killed when a drone fired two missiles on a suspected militant compound in Miranshah Bazaar, part of the town of Miranshah, North Waziristan.
- 16 November 2011: 16 people, at least two of whom were TTP militants, were killed after about six missiles from drones targeted a compound in the BabarBabarBabar means Lion. Babar may refer to:Names* Babur , 16th-century ruler of Indian subcontinent and founder of the Mughal Empire* Babar Luck, musician from England...
area of Sararogha Tehsil, South Waziristan. - 17 November 2011: 6 suspected militants killed in a strike near Razmak in North Waziristan.
US viewpoint
In 2009 Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
authorized the continuation of these strikes after he became US president. Top US officials consider these strikes very successful and believe that the senior al-Qaeda leadership has been 'decimated' by these strikes. A list of the high-ranking victims of the drones was provided to Pakistan in 2009. Obama has broadened these attacks to include targets seeking to destabilize Pakistani civilian government and the attacks of 14 and 16 February 2009 were against training camps run by Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
. On 25 February 2009 Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panetta is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, the director of the CIA indicated the strikes will continue. On 4 March 2009 The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
reported that the drones were targeting Baitullah Mehsud. Obama was reported in March 2009 as considering expanding these strikes to include Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
On 25 March 2010 US State Department legal advisor Harold Koh stated that the drone strikes were legal because of the right to self-defense. According to Koh, the US is involved in an armed conflict with al-Qaida, the Taliban, and their affiliates and therefore may use force consistent with self-defense under international law.
Former CIA officials state that the agency uses a careful screening process in making decisions on which individuals to kill via drone strikes. The process, carried out at the agency's counterterrorist center, involves up to 10 lawyers who write briefs justifying the targeting of specific individuals. According to the former officials, if the briefs' arguments are weak, the request to target the individual is denied. Since 2008 the CIA has relied less on its list of individuals and increasingly targeted "signatures," or suspect behavior. This change in tactics has resulted in fewer deaths of high-value targets and in more deaths of lower-level fighters, or "mere foot soldiers" as the one senior Pakistani official told the Washington Post.
US officials stated in March 2009 that the Predator strikes had killed nine of al-Qaeda's 20 top commanders. The officials added that many top Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders, as a result of the strikes, had fled to Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
or even further to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
.
Some US politicians and academics have condemned the drone strikes. US Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
asserted that the United States was violating international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
by carrying out strikes against a country that never attacked the United States. Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
professor Gary D. Solis
Gary D. Solis
Gary D. Solis is an Adjunct Professor of Law who teaches the laws of war at the Georgetown University Law Center. He is an expert on the laws of war....
asserts that since the drone operators at the CIA are civilians directly engaged in armed conflict, this makes them "unlawful combatants" and possibly subject to prosecution.
US military reports asserted that al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
is being slowly but systematically routed because of these attacks, and that they have served to sow the seeds of uncertainty and discord among their ranks. They also claimed that the drone attacks have addled and confused the Taliban, and have led them to turn against each other. In July 2009 it was reported that (according to US officials) Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
's son Saad bin Laden
Saad bin Laden
Sa'ad bin Osama bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Laden , better known as Saad bin Laden, is one of the sons of Osama bin Laden. He continued in his father's footsteps by occupying a position within Al-Qaeda...
was believed to have been killed in a drone attack earlier in the year.
During a protest against drone attacks, in an event sponsored by Nevada Desert Experience
Nevada Desert Experience
The Nevada Desert Experience is a name for the movement to stop U.S. nuclear weapons testing that came into use in the middle 1980s. It is also the name of a particular anti-nuclear organization which continues to create public events to question the morality and intelligence of the U.S. nuclear...
, Father Louie Vitale
Louie Vitale
Fr. Louis Vitale, OFM, is a Franciscan priest, activist, and a co-founder of Nevada Desert Experience. He has engaged in civil disobedience for nearly four decades in pursuit of peace and justice, and has been arrested more than 200 times. Vitale says that St...
, Kathy Kelly
Kathy Kelly
Kathy Kelly is an American peace activist, pacifist and author, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, one of the founding members of Voices in the Wilderness, and currently a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. She has been described as "probably the most respected leader in the...
, Stephen Kelly, SJ
Stephen Kelly (SJ)
Fr. Stephen Kelly, SJ is a priest of the Society of Jesus who worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Central America for many years.He is an activist, has participated in a number of Plowshares Movement protests and is a war-tax resister....
, Eve Tetaz
Eve Tetaz
Eve Tetaz, 78, is a retired Washington, D.C. public-school teacher and a peace and justice activist. Tetaz was arrested 11 times in 2007 for nonviolent civil resistance during protests against the war and occupation of Iraq...
, John Dear
John Dear
John Dear is an American Catholic priest, Christian pacifist, author and lecturer. He has been arrested over 75 times in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience against war, injustice and nuclear weapons.-Studies:...
, and others were arrested outside Creech Air Force Base
Creech Air Force Base
Creech Air Force Base , formerly known as Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, is a United States Air Force base located one mile north of the central business district of Indian Springs, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is about northwest of Las Vegas and northwest of Nellis Air...
on Wednesday 9 April 2009.
In May 2009 it was reported that the USA was sharing drone intelligence with Pakistan. Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panetta is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency...
reiterated on 19 May 2009 that the US intended to continue the drone attacks.
In December 2009 expansion of the drone attacks was authorized by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
to parallel the decision to send 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan. Senior US officials are reportedly pushing for extending the strikes into Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
in Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
against the Quetta Shura
Quetta Shura
The Quetta Shura is a militant organization composed of top leadership of the Afghan Taliban, that is believed to be based since about 2001 in the city of Quetta in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The Shura was formed after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was toppled in late 2001 and the...
. Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
on 7 January 2010 Senators John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
stated the drone attacks were effective and would continue but stated that US would make greater efforts to prevent collateral damage
Collateral damage
Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.-Etymology:...
. In an effort to strengthen trust with Pakistan 'US sharing drone surveillance data with Pakistan, says Mike Mullen '
US defence budget for 2011 asked for a 75% increase in funds to enhance the drone operations.
The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
(AP) noted that Barack Obama apparently expanded the scope and increased the aggressiveness of the drone campaign against militants in Pakistan after taking office. According to the news agency, the US increased strikes against the Pakistani Taliban, which earned favor from the Pakistani government, resulting in increased cooperation from Pakistani intelligence services. Also, the Obama administration toned down the US government's public rhetoric against Islamic terrorism, garnering better cooperation from other Islamic governments. Furthermore, with the drawdown of the war in Iraq, more drones, support personnel, and intelligence assets became available for the campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since Obama took office, according to the AP, the number of drones operated by the CIA over Afghanistan and Pakistan doubled. A May 2010 Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
report quoted unnamed counterterrorism officials who speculated that the Obama administration's closure of the secret CIA interrogation centers and intent to close the Guantanamo Bay prison was a direct influence on the expansion of the drone targeted killings. According to the officials, the killings are necessary because there is no longer any place to put captured terrorists.
A study called 'The Year of the Drone" published in February 2010 by New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
found that in a total of 114 drone strikes in Pakistan between 2004 and early 2010 approximately between 834 and 1,216 individuals had been killed, about two thirds of whom were thought to be militants and one third were civilians.
On 28 April 2011, president Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
appointed General David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
as director of the CIA overseeing the drone attacks. According to Pakistani and American officials this could further inflame relations between the two nations.
According to the Washington Post, as of September 2011, around 30 Predator and Reaper drones were operating under CIA direction in the Afghanistan/Pakistan area of operations. The drones are flown by United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
pilots located at an unnamed base in the United States. US Department of Defense armed drones, which also sometimes take part in strikes on terrorist targets, are flown by US Air Force pilots located at Creech Air Force Base
Creech Air Force Base
Creech Air Force Base , formerly known as Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, is a United States Air Force base located one mile north of the central business district of Indian Springs, in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is about northwest of Las Vegas and northwest of Nellis Air...
and Holloman Air Force Base
Holloman Air Force Base
Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located six miles southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, a city in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The base was named in honor of Col. George V. Holloman, a pioneer in guided missile research...
. The CIA drones are operated by an office called the Pakistan-Afghanistan Department, which operates under the CIA's Counterterrorism Center (CTC), based at CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia. As of September 2011, the CTC had about 2,000 people on staff.
Pakistani response
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and because civilian deaths have also resulted, including women and children, which has further angered the Pakistani government and people. General David Petraeus
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
was told in November 2008 that these strikes were unhelpful. However on 4 October 2008 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported that there was a secret deal between the US and Pakistan allowing these drone attacks. US Senator Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
said in February 2009: “As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base.” Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Hussain Qureshi is well-known Politician in Pakistan. He was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan in the coalition government of PPP, Muttahida Quami Movement[MQM], ANP and JUI-F formed after the 2008 general elections. He was a senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party, where...
denied that this was true.
On 28 September, a spokesman for the Pakistani army condemned Washington's killing of Pakistani civilians and warned of retaliatory action: "Border violations by US-led forces in Afghanistan, which have killed scores of Pakistani civilians, would no longer be tolerated, and we have informed them that we reserve the right to self defense and that we will retaliate if the US continues cross-border attacks." When the Soviets were in Afghanistan, the potent Pakistani Air Force shot down any Soviet aircraft that strayed into Pakistan.
The British newspaper The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
stated on 18 February 2009 that the CIA was using Shamsi Airfield
Shamsi airfield
PAF Base Shamsi, also called Bandari is a Pakistan Air Force airbase located near Washki in the Balochistan province of Pakistan....
, 190 miles (305.8 km) southwest of Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
and 30 miles (48.3 km) from the Afghan border, as its base for drone operations. Safar Khan, a journalist based in the area near Shamsi, told the Times, "We can see the planes flying from the base. The area around the base is a high-security zone and no one is allowed there."
Top US officials confirmed to Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
that Shamsi Airfield had been used by the CIA to launch the drones since 2002.
The drone attacks continue, despite repeated requests made by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party . He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister....
through different channels. Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
while claiming responsibility for the 2009 Lahore police academy attacks
2009 Lahore police academy attacks
At 7.30 am on 30 March 2009, the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan was attacked by an estimated 12 gunmen. The perpetrators were armed with automatic weapons and grenades or rockets and some were dressed as policemen. They took over the main building during a morning parade when 750...
, stated that it was in retaliation for the drone attacks. According to The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, Pakistani intelligence has agreed to secretly provide information to the United States on Mehsud's and his militants' whereabouts while publicly the Pakistani government will continue to condemn the attacks.
On 28 April 2009 Pakistan's consul general to the US, Aqil Nadeem, asked the US to hand over control of its drones in Pakistan to his government. Said Nadeem, "Do we want to lose the war on terror or do we want to keep those weapons classified? If the American government insists on our true cooperation, then they should also be helping us in fighting those terrorists." President Zardari has also requested that Pakistan be given control over the drones but this has been rejected by the US who are worried that Pakistanis will leak information about targets to militants. In December 2009 Pakistan's Defence minister Ahmad Mukhtar acknowledged that Americans were using Shamsi Airfield but stated that Pakistan was not satisfied with payments for using the facility.
In an analysis published in Daily Times on 2 January 2010 author Farhat Taj challenged the view that the local people of Waziristan were against the drone attacks. Author states on the basis of personal interviews with people in Waziristan that the locals in Waziristan support the attacks and see the drones as their 'liberators' from the clutches of Taliban and Pakistan's Intelligence agencies. She further challenged the government of Pakistan to provide accurate figures about the 'civilian' casualties and tell what methodology was used to collect this data. According to her 'The people of Waziristan are suffering a brutal kind of occupation under the Taliban and al Qaeda. It is in this context that they would welcome anyone, Americans, Israelis, Indians or even the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, to rid them of the Taliban and al Qaeda.' In response to this analysis Irfan Husain
Irfan Husain
Irfan Husain has been writing on a wide range of subjects for newspapers in Pakistan and elsewhere since 1970. He currently writes two weekly columns for Dawn, Pakistan’s widely circulated and highly respected daily...
writing in Dawn
Dawn (newspaper)
Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
agreed with her assessment and called for more drone attacks. He wrote 'We need to wake up to the reality that the enemy has grown very strong in the years we temporized and tried to do deals with them. Clearly, we need allies in this fight. Howling at the moon is not going to get us the cooperation we so desperately need. A solid case can be made for more drone attacks, not less.
In December 2010 the CIA's Station Chief in Islamabad operating under the alias Jonathan Banks was hastily pulled from the country. Lawsuits filed by families of victims of drone strikes had named Banks as a defendant, he had been receiving death threats, and a Pakistani journalist whose brother and son died in a drone strike called for prosecuting Banks for murder.
In March 2011 the General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
of 7th division
7th Infantry Division (Pakistan)
The 7th Infantry Division, also known as the Golden Arrow and Peshawar Division, is the Pakistan Army's oldest and most battle-hardened division...
of Pakistani Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
, Major General Ghayur Mehmood delivered a briefing "Myths and rumours about US predator strikes" in Miramshah. He said that most of those who were killed by the drone strikes were Al-qaeda and Taliban terrorists. Military’s official paper on the attacks till 7 March 2011 said that between 2007 and 2011 about 164 predator strikes had been carried out and over 964 terrorists had been killed. Those killed included 793 locals and 171 foreigners. The foreigners included Arabs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Chechens, Filipinos and Moroccans.
al Qaeda response
Messages recovered from Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
's home after his death
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
in 2011, including one from then al Qaeda No. 3, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman
Atiyah Abd al-Rahman
Atiyah Abd Al Rahman was reported by the US State Department to be a senior member of al-Qaeda and a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Ansar al-Sunna...
reportedly, according to the Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
and the Washington Post, expressed frustration with the drone strikes in Pakistan. According to an unnamed U.S. Government official, in his message al-Rahman complained that drone-launched missiles were killing al Qaeda operatives faster than they could be replaced.
In June and July 2011, law enforcement authorities found messages on al Qaeda-linked websites calling for attacks against executives of drone aircraft manufacturer AeroVironment
AeroVironment
AeroVironment Inc. is a technology company in Monrovia, California, and Simi Valley, California, that is primarily involved in energy systems, electric vehicle systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles . Paul B. MacCready, Jr., a famous designer of human powered aircraft, founded the company in 1971...
. Law enforcement believed that the messages were in response to calls for action against Americans by Adam Yahiye Gadahn
Adam Yahiye Gadahn
Adam Yahiye Gadahn is an American who is a senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the Sunni islamist group Al-Qaeda. Since 2004, he appeared in a number of videos produced by Al-Qaeda as "Azzam the American"...
.
United Nations human rights concerns
On 3 June 2009, the United Nations Human Rights CouncilUnited Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
(UNHRC) delivered a report sharply critical of US tactics. The report asserted that the US government has failed to keep track of civilian casualties of its military operations, including the drone attacks, and to provide means for citizens of affected nations to obtain information about the casualties and any legal inquests regarding them. Any such information held by the U.S. military is allegedly inaccessible to the public due to the high level of secrecy surrounding the drone attacks program. The US representative at UNHRC has argued that the UN investigator for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions does not have jurisdiction over US military actions, while another US diplomat claimed that the US military is investigating any wrongdoing and doing all it can to furnish information about the deaths.
On 27 October 2009 UNHRC investigator Philip Alston
Philip Alston
Philip G. Alston is an international law scholar and human rights practitioner. He is John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-Chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice...
called on the US to demonstrate that it was not randomly killing people in violation of international law through its use of drones on the Afghan border. Alston criticized the US's refusal to respond to date to the UN's concerns. Said Alston, "Otherwise you have the really problematic bottom line, which is that the Central Intelligence Agency is running a program that is killing significant numbers of people and there is absolutely no accountability in terms of the relevant international laws."
On 2 June 2010 Alston's team released a report on its investigation into the drone strikes, criticizing the United States for being, "the most prolific user of targeted killings" in the world. Alston, however, acknowledged that the drone attacks may be justified under the right to self-defense. He called on the US to be more open about the program. Alston's report was submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006...
the following day.
Interviews with people from Waziristan
Between November 2008 and January 2009 Pakistani Aryana Institute for Regional Research and AdvocacyAryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy
Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy is a think tank of researchers and activists from Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It conducts research, does surveys and collects statistics on issues concerning Taliban and Al-Qaeda activities in...
conducted a survey of the public opinion about the drone strikes in Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
. 5 teams of 5 researchers each interviewed a total of 550 people from all walks of life. Most people thought that the drone attacks were accurate and did not lead to anti-American sentiment and were effective in damaging the militants.
Based on the responses the researchers concluded 'The popular notion outside the Pakhtun belt that a large majority of the local population supports the Taliban movement lacks substance'. Most people thought that the drone attacks were accurate and did not lead to anti-American sentiment and were effective in damaging the militants. In addition the locals wanted the Pakistani forces to also target the militants. According to Farhat Taj a member of AIRRA the drones have never killed any civilians. Some people in Waziristan compare the drones to Ababils, the holy swallows sent by God to avenge Abraha
Abraha
Abraha also known as Abraha al-Ashram or Abraha b...
, the invader of the Khana Kaaba.
In an analysis published in Daily Times (Pakistan) on 2 January 2010 Farhat Taj, a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research, University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
and a member of Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy
Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy
Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy is a think tank of researchers and activists from Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It conducts research, does surveys and collects statistics on issues concerning Taliban and Al-Qaeda activities in...
discussed the issue of drone attacks with hundreds of people of Waziristan
Waziristan
Waziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...
. She claims that they see the US drone attacks as their liberators from the clutches of Islamist militiants into which, they say, their state has wilfully thrown them. She claims that estimates about civilian casualties in the US and Pakistani media are wrong because after every attack Islamist militiants cordon off the area and no one, including the local villagers, is allowed to come even near the targeted place. The militants themselves collect the bodies, bury the dead and then issue the statement that all of them were innocent civilians. However, according to the people of Waziristan, the only civilians who have been killed so far in the drone attacks are women or children of the militants in whose houses/compounds they hold meetings. But that used to happen in the past and now they don’t hold meetings at places where women and children of the militants reside. In one case when the funeral procession of an Islamist commander was hit and some civilians were killed. But after the attack people got the excuse of not attending the funeral of slain militants or offering them food.
Farhat Taj claims that locals usually appreciate drone attacks when they compare it with the Pakistan Army’s attacks, which always result in collateral damage
Collateral damage
Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.-Etymology:...
.
People said that when a drone would hover over the skies, they wouldn’t be disturbed and would carry on their usual business because they would be sure that it does not target the civilians, but the same people would run for shelter when a Pakistani jet would appear in the skies because of its indiscriminate firing. They say that even in the same compound only the exact room – where a high value target (HVT) is present – is targeted and others in the same compound are spared.
In response to this analysis Irfan Husain
Irfan Husain
Irfan Husain has been writing on a wide range of subjects for newspapers in Pakistan and elsewhere since 1970. He currently writes two weekly columns for Dawn, Pakistan’s widely circulated and highly respected daily...
writing in Dawn
Dawn (newspaper)
Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
agreed with Farhat Taj's assessment and called for more drone attacks. He wrote: "We need to wake up to the reality that the enemy has grown very strong in the years we temporized and tried to do deals with them. Clearly, we need allies in this fight. Howling at the moon is not going to get us the cooperation we so desperately need. A solid case can be made for more drone attacks, not less."
Civilian casualties
According to unnamed counterterrorism officials, in 2009 or 2010 CIA drones began employing smaller missiles in airstrikes in Pakistan in order to reduce civilian casualties. The new missiles, called the Small Smart WeaponSmall Smart Weapon
Small Smart Weapon or Scorpion missile is a new generation small American missile manufactured by Lockheed Martin. It is long, weighs , is approximately the diameter of a coffee cup and can be fitted with four different types of guidance systems. It is being used by CIA in Drone attacks in...
or Scorpion, are reportedly about the size of a violin case (21 inches long) and weigh 16 kg. The missiles are used in combination with new technology intended to increase accuracy and expand surveillance, including the use of small, unarmed surveillance drones to exactly pinpoint the location of targets. These "micro-UAVs" (unmanned aerial vehicles) can be roughly the size of a pizza platter and meant to monitor potential targets at close range, for hours or days at a time. One former U.S. official who worked with micro-UAVs said that they can be almost impossible to detect at night. "It can be outside your window and you won't hear a whisper," the official said. The drone operators also have changed to trying to target insurgents in vehicles rather than residences to reduce the chances of civilian casualties.
A January 2011 report by Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
stated that civilian casualties in the strikes had apparently decreased. According to the report, the U.S. Government believed that 1,300 militants and only 30 civilians had been killed in drone strikes since mid-2008, with no civilians killed since August 2010.
On 14 July 2009, Daniel L. Byman of the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
stated that although accurate data on the results of drone strikes is difficult to obtain, it seemed that ten civilians had died in the drone attacks for every militant killed. He suggested that drone strikes may kill "10 or so civilians" for every militant killed, which would represent a civilian to combatant casualty ratio of 10:1. Byman argues that civilian killings constitute a humanitarian tragedy and create dangerous political problems, including damage to the legitimacy of the Pakistani government and alienation of the Pakistani populace from America. He suggested that the real answer to halting al-Qaeda's activity in Pakistan will be long-term support of Pakistan's counterinsurgency efforts.
United States officials claim that interviews with locals do not provide accurate numbers of civilian casualties because relatives or acquaintances of the dead refuse to admit that the victims were involved in militant activities.
The CIA reportedly passed up three chances to kill militant leaders, including Sirajuddin Haqqani
Sirajuddin Haqqani
Sirajuddin "Siraj" Haqqani is a Pashtun warlord and military leader who fights against American and coalition forces from his base within North Waziristan in Pakistan, where it is claimed he provides shelter to Al Qaeda operatives...
, with drone missiles in 2010 because women and children were nearby. The New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
believes that between zero and 18 civilians have been killed in drone strikes since 23 August 2010 and that overall civilian casualties have decreased from 25% of the total in prior years to an estimated 6% in 2010. The Foundation estimates that between 277 and 435 non-combatants have died since 2004, out of 1,374 to 2,189 total deaths.
According to a report of the Islamabad-based Conflict Monitoring Center (CMC), as of 2011, more than 2000 persons have been killed, and most of those deaths are of innocent civilians. The CMC termed the CIA drone strikes as an "assassination campaign turning out to be revenge campaign", and showed that 2010 was the deadliest year so far as regards casualties resulting from drone attacks, with 134 strikes inflicting over 900 deaths.
According to the Long War Journal, as of mid-2011, the drone strikes in Pakistan since 2006 had killed 2,018 militants and 138 civilians. The New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
stated in mid-2011 that since 2004 2,551 people have been killed in the strikes, with 80% of those militants. The Foundation stated that 95% of those killed in 2010 were militants.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Bureau of Investigative Journalism
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is a British not-for-profit news organisation backed by a number of prominent journalists. It is registered as a private, limited by guarantee, no share capital company. It was set up with the aim to produce and encourage independent serious investigations and...
based on extensive research found in mid-2011 that at least 385 civilians were among the dead, including more than 160 children.
The CIA has claimed that the strikes conducted between May 2010 and August 2011 killed over 600 militants and did not result in any civilian fatalities; this assessment has been criticized by Bill Roggio
Bill Roggio
Bill Roggio is an American commentator on military affairs.Roggio is notable for having his opinions quoted, or criticized, by a variety of newspapers and broadcasters.Roggio is currently the managing editor of The Long War Journal....
from the Long War Journal and other commentators as being unrealistic. Unnamed American officials who spoke to the New York Times claimed that, as of August 2011, the drone campaign had killed over 2,000 militants and approximately 50 noncombatants.
An independent research site Pakistan Body Count run by Dr. Zeeshan-ul-hassan a full bright scholar keeping track of all the drone attacks claims that 2179 civilians were among the dead, out of which 12.4% were children and women .
See also
- Drone attacks in Yemen
- List of terrorist incidents in Pakistan since 2001
- Terrorism in PakistanTerrorism in PakistanTerrorism in Pakistan has become a major and highly destructive phenomenon in recent years. The annual death toll from terrorist attacks has risen from 164 in 2003 to 3318 in 2009, with a total of 35,000 Pakistanis killed as of 2010. According to the government of Pakistan, the direct and indirect...
- Violence in Pakistan 2006-09Violence in Pakistan 2006-09This is a list of violent incidents in Pakistan since 2006. Violence increased in 2006, in part because the US/NATO strategy from 2005 of attacking the Taliban in their stronghold in South Afghanistan , lead to incidents on the Pakistani side of the border.-See also:*Waziristan War*Civilian...
- Pakistan Body Count (Complete Time line of drone attacks in Pakistan)
External links
- Complete data on CIA drone strikes in Pakistan from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism
- The Predator War Jane Mayer, The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. 26 October 2009 - Interactive Map on U.S. Airstrikes in Pakistan from the Center for American Progress
- Google Map of U.S. Drone Attacks in Pakistan since 2004
- UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston Responds to US Defense of Drone Attacks’ Legality – video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...