US drones kill 3 'militants' in 1st strike in Pakistan in more than a month
By BILL ROGGIONovember 29, 2012
The US killed three "militants," including "foreigners," in the first drone strike recorded in Pakistan in more than a month.
The remotely piloted Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired several missiles today at a compound in the village of Shin Warzak in South Waziristan, Dawn reported. According to Geo News, the drone strike targeted a vehicle and killed three people, including "foreigners." The term 'foreigners' is often used to describe Arab al Qaeda operatives or members of regional terror groups outside of Pakistan. In an attempt to limit civilian casualties, the US often fires missiles at vehicles thought to be transporting terrorists.
Today's attack ends a 36-day-long hiatus in the strike campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas. The last strike took place on Oct. 24, when four "militants" and one civilian were killed in an attack on a compound in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.
The pause in strikes was the second longest since the US campaign was ramped up in the summer of 2008 under the Bush administration. The longest pause was 55 days, from Nov. 26, 2011, to Jan. 10, 2012, when the Obama administration put the program on hold after US and Pakistani forces clashed in Mohmand. Pakistani troops had attacked US forces on the Afghan side of the border, and the ensuing firefight resulted in the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers. The US later apologized for the incident, despite having been attacked first by the Pakistani soldiers who failed to disengage after US aircraft signaled that US forces were involved.
US intelligence officials involved in the drone program would not comment on the reasons for the long pause in strikes. One intelligence official contacted by The Long War Journal said that "it certainly wasn't due to a lack of targets."
"Pakistan is a target-rich environment," the official continued. "We're only scratching at the surface, hitting them in the tribal areas, while the country remains infested with al Qaeda and their allies."
Strike takes place in territory under control of "good Taliban" leader
Today's strike took place in an area under the control of Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Taliban in the Wazir areas of South Waziristan. Nazir has openly supported Taliban emir Mullah Omar and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and wages jihad in Afghanistan. In an interview with the Asia Times, Nazir rejected claims that he opposed al Qaeda, and affirmed that he considered himself to be a member of the global terror organization. Pakistan's military and intelligence services consider Nazir and his followers "good Taliban" as they do not openly seek the overthrow of the Pakistani state.
Several top al Qaeda leaders, including Ilyas Kashmiri, Abu Khabab al Masri, Osama al Kini, Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, and Abu Zaid al Iraqi, have been killed while being sheltered by Nazir. [For more information on Nazir and al Qaeda leaders killed while under his protection, see LWJ reports, 'Good' Pakistani Taliban leader Nazir affirms membership in al Qaeda, and US drones kill 'good' Taliban commander in South Wazirstan.]
Mullah Nazir's Taliban faction is one of four major Taliban groups that have joined the Shura-e-Murakeba, an alliance brokered by al Qaeda late last year. The Shura-e-Murakeba also includes Hafiz Gul Bahadar's group; the Haqqani Network; and the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, which is led by Hakeemullah Mehsud and his deputy, Waliur Rehman Mehsud. The members of the Shura-e-Murakeba agreed to cease attacks against Pakistani security forces, refocus efforts against the US in Afghanistan, and end kidnappings and other criminal activities in the tribal areas.
Also, in June, Nazir banned polio vaccinations in his areas, and claimed that the program is being used by the US to gather intelligence and conduct drone strikes in the tribal areas. He followed Hafiz Gul Bahadar, who shut down the program in North Waziristan earlier that month.
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US drones kill 3 'militants' in 1st strike in Pakistan in more than a month - The Long War Journal
Al Qaeda commander thought killed in South Waziristan drone strike
By BILL ROGGIO, December 1, 2012
US drones struck in South Waziristan for the second time in three days, killing a Yemeni al Qaeda commander, according to reports from Pakistan. Two strikes have taken place in Pakistan's tribal areas after an unusually long pause that lasted for 36 days.
The remotely-piloted Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired missiles at a car traveling in Shin Warzak near Wana in South Waziristan, according to Dawn. Three "militants," including a Yemeni al Qaeda leader, were reported to have been killed in the strike.
The al Qaeda leader was identified as Abdul Rehman al Zaman Yemeni, and was described by The Express Tribune as "a senior al Qaeda leader."
However, a US military intelligence official who tracks al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan told The Long War Journal that Abdul Rehman is a "mid-level al Qaeda commander, equivalent to a colonel."
The strike is the second in Shin Warzak in three days. On Nov. 29, US drones killed three more terrorists, including a "foreigner," in a drone attack. Pakistani newspapers have identified the foreign fighter as Sheikh Abdul Bari.
The US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal that Bari, like Abdul Rehman, is a mid-level al Qaeda commander who has operated in Pakistan's tribal areas for some time. The intelligence official would not confirm the reports of the deaths of Bari and Abdul Rehman.
This week's drone strikes in South Waziristan ended a 36-day-long hiatus in the strike campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas. The pause in strikes was the second longest since the US campaign was ramped up in the summer of 2008 under the Bush administration.
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/al_qaeda_commander_t.php#ixzz2DxCX59zm
