United States Missile Attack Kills Islamic Militants in Pakistan

[Metallic]

12 March 2009

At least 14 people have been killed after missiles, believed to have been fired from a U.S. drone aircraft, hit a suspected militant hideout in Pakistan on 12 March 2009.

Witnesses and officials reported the missile attack Thursday in the Kurram tribal region in western Pakistan, near Afghanistan. Reports from the region quote unnamed Pakistani officials as saying the missiles destroyed a training camp for Taliban militants.

The United States has carried out a number of missile strikes on suspected al-Qaida and Taliban targets in Pakistan's border region since last year. The Pakistani government has condemned the attacks as a violation of its territorial sovereignty.

The US does not confirm drone attacks but no other countries have the power to deploy such weapons in the region.

Pakistan is under intense international pressure to fight a growing Islamist insurgency and to rid itself of the Taliban and other militants believed to be based in the country's tribal regions.

Earlier Thursday, Pakistan's military reported killing 18 militants during an operation in Mohmand tribal region.

The area is just south of Bajaur, where some of the heaviest fighting has taken place between security forces and Islamic militants. This week, Pakistani officials signed a peace deal with Bajaur tribal leaders who agreed to disband armed groups and stop harboring foreign militants.

Last month, a similar deal was made with militant leaders in the nearby Swat Valley, once a renowned tourist destination. The deal allows the imposition of Islamic law, or Sharia, in exchange for a promise from militants to end their insurgency.

Timeline: U.S. Drone Missile Strikes On Suspected Terror Targets In Pakistan

June 18, 2004: 5 killed including Nek Muhammad (Pashtun military leader) in a U.S. missile strike near Wana (Pakistan). Nek Muhammad belonged to the Yargul Khai subclan of the Ahmadzai tribe. At the time of his death Nek Muhammad was accused of sheltering foreign militants from Uzbekistan, Chechnya, Afghanistan and some Arab countries.

May 14, 2005: Haitham al-Yemeni (Al Qaeda explosives expert from Yemen) killed in a strike by US drones in Pakistan.

November 30, 2005: Al-Qaeda number 3 Abu Hamza Rabia (Egyptian-born) killed in a missile attack by US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drones in Pakistan.

January 13, 2006: Damadola airstrike by US drones kills 18 in Bajaur.

April 26, 2007: 4 killed in village Saidgi in North Waziristan.

June 19, 2007: 20 killed in village of Mami Rogha in North Waziristan.

November 2, 2007: 5 militants killed in an attack on a madrasa in North Waziristan. A missile fired from a U.S. unmanned aerial drone killed five militants and wounded six other people in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, according to a Pakistani security official and a local resident. The missile killed the militants inside a compound near a large madrasa, or religious school, that was established by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a Taliban commander with close ties to Osama bin Laden, a security official said.

January 29, 2008: Abu Laith al-Libi (Senior Al-Qaeda spokesman) and associates killed in U.S. missile strike in Salam Kot, North Waziristan.

February 27, 2008: 12 people killed in a strike near Kalosha village in South Waziristan.

March 18, 2008: 16 killed in a strike in South Waziristan. The attack took place near Shahnawaz Kheil Dhoog in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border. "Initial reports suggest militants were hiding there," a military official said. Local tribesman Rahim Khan said at least two missiles from an unmanned drone hit and destroyed the home of a local militant leader and Taliban sympathizer who goes by the single name of Noorullah.

May 14, 2008: 12 killed including Abu Sulayman Al-Jazairi (originally from Algeria, weapons expert Al Qaeda) near village of Damadola.

July 28, 2008: Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar (alleged top bomb maker for al-Qaeda), and 5 other Al-Qaeda operatives killed in South Waziristan. The United States had a US$5 million bounty on the head of Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar.)

September 8, 2008: 23 killed in Daande Darpkhel airstrike.

September 12, 2008: 12 killed in Miranshah airstrike.

September 30, 2008: 6 killed in a drone strike near Mir Ali, Pakistan. The missiles struck the home of a local Taliban commander before midnight in Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan - a known haven for the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters near to the Afghan border.

October 16, 2008: Senior Al-Qaeda leader Khalid Habib killed in a strike. Khalid Habib was a member of Al-Qaeda's central structure in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Khalid Habib was reportedly sitting in a Toyota station wagon which was struck by a U.S. missile. On October 28, militants confirmed to the Asia Times that Habib was killed in the U.S. drone attack.

October 22, 2008: 4 killed in a village near Miranshah by missiles fired from suspected U.S. drone.

October 26, 2008: 20 killed including Taliban commander Mohammad Omar in a U.S. strike in South Waziristan. Mohammad Omar was a close associate of the dead Taliban commander Nek Mohammed (killed in a U.S. drone strike on June 18, 2004).

October 31, 2008: 20 killed including Al-Qaeda operative Abu Akash after 4 missiles hit Waziristan. Abu Akash was also known by aliases Haji Akasha Khan, Abdur Rehman and Iraqi Malang. He was born in Iraq. The building that was hit by U.S. missiles was thought to be a militant hideout. Also other foreign militants were killed in the drone strike, according to officials.

November 14, 2008: 12 killed in a strike near Miranshah. A drone fired two missiles onto the house of a local tribesman in a border village near Miranshah, which has been the main target for US strikes in the recent months. A security official said 9 foreign militants - believed to be al-Qaeda fighters - were among those killed in the strike.

November 22, 2008: British Al-Qaeda operative Rashid Rauf and 4 others including Abu Zubair al-Masri (Top Al-Qaeda explosives expert originally from Egypt) killed in a US missile strike in North Waziristan.

December 22, 2008: At least 8 killed in South Waziristan by suspected US drone strikes. Pakistani intelligence sources said they believed the extremists killed were members of local Pakistani Taliban groups. Three U.S. missiles reportedly targeted vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns, according to Pakistani intelligence sources and local officials.

January 1, 2009: 2 senior Al-Qaeda leaders Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam & Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan killed in Pakistan in a missile strike by US drones. (Both were Kenyans on the FBI's list of Most Wanted Terrorists in the United States for their part in the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.)

January 23, 2009: In the first attacks since Barack Obama became president at least 14 killed in Waziristan in 2 separate attacks by 5 missiles fired from drones on suspected terrorist hideouts.

February 14, 2009: More than 30 killed (including Taliban and Al-Qaeda members according to a Pakistani intelligence official and residents of the area) when two missiles are launched by CIA drones into Pakistan near town of Makeen in South Waziristan. Dozens of followers of Pakistan's top Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, were staying in the housing compound in the village when it was hit by U.S. missiles.

February 16, 2009: Strike in Kurram Valley kills 30. The missile attack targeted a house used by a Taliban commander in Kurram

March 1, 2009: Strike in Sararogha village in South Waziristan kills seven suspected Islamic militants. "It was a Taleban sanctuary, which was destroyed in the attack," an unnamed Pakistani security official told AFP news agency. "Some foreigners were possibly among those killed, including Uzbeks and Arabs".

March 12, 2009: U.S. Missile Attack Targets Suspected Militant Hideout in Pakistan. Four missiles believed to have been fired by at least two pilotless U.S. drone aircraft hit a militant hideout and training camp in the Kurram tribal region on the Afghan border. At least 24 Local Taliban killed.

American Viewpoint

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) generally does not comment on these attacks as per its policy. Barack Obama authorized the continuation of these strikes after he became President. Top US officials consider these strikes very successful and believe that the senior Al-Qaeda leadership has been decimated by these strikes. An account of high value targets eliminated by drones was provided to Pakistan in 2009. President Obama has broadened these attacks to include targets seeking to destabilize Pakistani civilian government and the attacks of February 14 & 16, 2009 were against training camps run by Baitullah Mehsud. On February 25, 2009 Leon Panetta director of CIA indicated these strikes will continue. On March 4, 2009 The Washington Times reported that the drones were targetting Baitullah Mehsud.


American MQ-9 Reaper Hunter/Killer Drone




An MQ-9 Reaper with Two GBU-49 GPS Guided Bombs


AGM-114 Hellfire Air-to-Ground missile

 

[S-2]

Lovely. Just lovely.

"My heart soars like an eagle..."Little Big Man- 1967

 

[kidwaibhai]

good they should have killed more. but i do think that we need to create our drones so that we can kill people like fuzlulah and baitullah mehsud.

 

[Metallic]

*** UPDATE***

Drone kills 24 Pakistan Taleban
13 March 2009

Missiles fired by an unmanned US drone have killed at least 24 people in Pakistan's Kurram tribal region on 12 March 2009 near the Afghan border, officials have said.

Local officials said the dead were local Taleban and that the toll may rise. Thirty others were injured.

Correspondents say this is the fifth drone attack on Pakistani territory since Barack Obama became US president.

Pakistan is critical of the tactic because, it says, civilians are often killed, fuelling support for militants.
The target of the missile attack on Thursday night was a training camp run by a local Taleban commander.

The camp in the Brijo area is located some 20km from Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

Local officials told the BBC Urdu Service that a drone fired four missiles into the camp, a huge compound with five rooms which served as a weapons store, meeting place and lodging for the local Taleban.

It was being run by Commander Fazal Saeed, who was present, along with 57 others, during the missile attack. Officials said that the commander escaped unharmed.

Witnesses said people living in the area turned off their lights following the blasts to avoid being targeted by missiles.

They said the entire Taleban compound was on fire and that announcements were made using mosque loudspeakers in the area urging people not to approach the camp for fear of more drone attacks.

"Taleban militants have sealed off the area and are retrieving bodies from the rubble," said a security official.

Last month, a missile strike in the same area targeted a suspected Taleban training facility.

Missile strikes by unmanned drone spy aircraft have mostly targeted foreign fighters in the Waziristan region over the past couple of years.

The BBC's Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the strikes are now also targeting facilities run by local or Afghan Taleban in the lower Kurram region, from where attacks have been launched into the Khost and Paktia provinces of Afghanistan.

The southern parts of the lower Kurram region share borders with Afghanistan's Khost province, where US and coalition forces have major deployments of forces.

The US does not confirm drone attacks but no other countries have the power to deploy such weapons in the region.

Source: BBC

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

I'm from Kurram. I will admit, that a lot of people are happy it killed mostly taleban


but you should listen to Imran Khans interview with Fareed Zakaria. The man speaks the truth. Even moderate Pakistanis are becoming furious --some even radicalized --by these actions


but remember --- the americans' economy is REALLY plummeting. And they know they are losing badly in Afghanistan and will have no choice but to negotiate with 'moderate' taleban.

 

[JK!]

"Don't fear the Reaper"

I always hear Blue Oyster Cult when I see one of these machines

On a defence note I'm glad the UK has some of these though they tend to operate in more of a reconnaisance role..............for now

 

[osamaziadxb]

I'm from Kurram. I will admit, that a lot of people are happy it killed mostly taleban


but you should listen to Imran Khans interview with Fareed Zakaria. The man speaks the truth. Even moderate Pakistanis are becoming furious --some even radicalized --by these actions


but remember --- the americans' economy is REALLY plummeting. And they know they are losing badly in Afghanistan and will have no choice but to negotiate with 'moderate' taleban.

without any permission US Drons r killing our people..they were not militants but civilians.
who wants that some1 come nd kill der people in der own country but nthing to say about our gov..they r itself culprits..

 

[muse]

they were not militants but civilians

.


Whereas the artice says the following:

Local officials said the dead were local Taleban and that the toll may rise

So in your opinion the local officials are liars? Do you have any information to suggest that these were not talib? Or is it that you think of talib as civilians?

 

[osamaziadxb]

.


Whereas the artice says the following:



So in your opinion the local officials are liars? Do you have any information to suggest that these were not talib? Or is it that you think of talib as civilians?

sure they r liars..our gov cant found the evidence of a big attacks (like3/3)..what can a single man say about this attack..

 

[Patriot]

sure they r liars..our gov cant found the evidence of a big attacks (like3/3)..what can a single man say about this attack..

Dude So America is killing civilian just for fun?Read the post above (That poster lives in Kurram Agency) his relatives have told him that mostly talibans are killed.

 

[rubyjackass]

without any permission US Drons r killing our people..they were not militants but civilians.
who wants that some1 come nd kill der people in der own country but nthing to say about our gov..they r itself culprits..

Previously the PR of the government was directed against the US drones or atleast not in support of drones. May be they thought if they could make US stop the drones, they can claim it as a success. So people complained of underminig sovereignity blah blah

Now the PR is pro-drones. May be now they got the US to listen on how and where to use them; or they realised they cannot influence US policy here. So people now complain less about sovereignity issues. They are made to ignore the civilians.

I dont believe that there is no civilian damage in a drone attack. And thinking in terms of relative damage is dumb because it is civilians who are dying not armed forces. This is true with any government. Either you dont want civilians to die like that. Or you are willing to sacrifice a few of them.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Dude So America is killing civilian just for fun?Read the post above (That poster lives in Kurram Agency) his relatives have told him that mostly talibans are killed.

actually -- at the moment i am not living in Kurram.
But i have family in Upper Kurram (i.e. Parachinar, village name is Alaamsher)


actually most of us in Kurram are glad that we have been spared the whole nightmare of taleban. But occasionally some of the tribes are giving them shelter ---and the taleban know that Kurram has a concentration of Shiia tribesman.


for those of you that know the area --it is mostly in and around Sadda where taleban haram zadeh get support.


The sooner this goddam situation over the border improves, the better it is for us.


My village is just 15 km from Tora Bora (which is just over the mountains). We are fed up of trouble-maker taleban. They are the real problem and an embarassment to Islam.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Previously the PR of the government was directed against the US drones or atleast not in support of drones. May be they thought if they could make US stop the drones, they can claim it as a success. So people complained of underminig sovereignity blah blah

Now the PR is pro-drones. May be now they got the US to listen on how and where to use them; or they realised they cannot influence US policy here. So people now complain less about sovereignity issues. They are made to ignore the civilians.

I dont believe that there is no civilian damage in a drone attack. And thinking in terms of relative damage is dumb because it is civilians who are dying not armed forces. This is true with any government. Either you dont want civilians to die like that. Or you are willing to sacrifice a few of them.

no -- the govt. just realizes that they are weak people, and they realize that the public has realized.....


go on live-leak and watch the video of Imran Khan & Fareed Zakaria interview

 

[happy.muslimah]

they are not islamic i think bigggest terrorist are us army bush and israell.go and attack them...

 

[roadrunner]

without any permission US Drons r killing our people..they were not militants but civilians.
who wants that some1 come nd kill der people in der own country but nthing to say about our gov..they r itself culprits..

You guys should listen to this guy, instead of what "Aryana Institute of Indian/Afghani propaganda" or local officials who have been ordered to say things to the media for fear of a backlash occurring. He's living in Pakistan and he knows it better than any of you guys.

I've always been supportive of Pakistani military doing these operations. Because Pakistani military are people who i don't believe would kill their own people. This is based on many of them coming from the tribal areas. The US drone strikes on the other hand are basically some American, possibly drugged up or drunk from what previous engagements have shown, sitting thousands of miles away, doing whatever he wants safe in the knowledge the media will cover his tracks.

It's not the world you need to convince. It's those tribals who believe innocent people are being killed by the drone strikes. You'll not convince them in the current way, and most Pakistanis don't buy it.