The US launched its second straight drone strike in a remote
valley in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North
Waziristan today, killing six "militants."
The remotely piloted Predators or the more advanced Reapers fired a pair of missiles at a compound in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan, according to AFP. Pakistani officials said six "militants" were killed in the strike while the compound was set afire, burning several of the bodies beyond recognition.
No senior al Qaeda, Taliban, or allied jihadist commanders are reported to have been killed in the strike.
Today's strike in Shawal is the second in the valley this week. On June 26, a similar strike on a compound in Shawal killed five militants. So far this year, four of the 25 drone strikes in Pakistan hit targets in the Shawal Valley.
Al Qaeda, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, and Taliban fighters under the command of Hafiz Gul Bahadar, the leader of the Taliban in North Waziristan, are all known to operate in the Shawal Valley, which is near the Afghan border. The area is used to launch attacks across the border in Afghanistan.
Bahadar administers the Shawal Valley. In 2009, Bahadar sheltered the
families of Hakeemullah Mehsud, the leader of the Movement of the
Taliban in Pakistan, and Waliur Rehman Mehsud, the group's leader in
South Waziristan, after the Pakistani military launched an offensive in
the Mehsud areas of South Waziristan [see LWJ report, Taliban escape South Waziristan operation].
Bahadar, Hakeemullah, South Waziristan Taliban commander Mullah Nazir, and Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani Network, are members of the Shura-e-Murakeba, an alliance formed in late 2011. The four commanders agreed to cease attacks against Pakistani security forces, refocus efforts against the US and NATO in Afghanistan, and end kidnappings and other criminal activities in the tribal areas.
The deal was brokered by senior al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al Libi as well as by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the operational leader of the Haqqani Network, and Mullah Mansour, a senior Taliban leader who operates in eastern Afghanistan. An al Qaeda leader known as Abdur Rehman Al Saudi was also involved in the negotiations. Mullah Omar, the overall leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is said to have dispatched Siraj and Mansour to help negotiate the agreement [see LWJ report, Al Qaeda brokers new anti-US Taliban alliance in Pakistan and Afghanistan].
The remotely piloted Predators or the more advanced Reapers fired a pair of missiles at a compound in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan, according to AFP. Pakistani officials said six "militants" were killed in the strike while the compound was set afire, burning several of the bodies beyond recognition.
No senior al Qaeda, Taliban, or allied jihadist commanders are reported to have been killed in the strike.
Today's strike in Shawal is the second in the valley this week. On June 26, a similar strike on a compound in Shawal killed five militants. So far this year, four of the 25 drone strikes in Pakistan hit targets in the Shawal Valley.
Al Qaeda, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, and Taliban fighters under the command of Hafiz Gul Bahadar, the leader of the Taliban in North Waziristan, are all known to operate in the Shawal Valley, which is near the Afghan border. The area is used to launch attacks across the border in Afghanistan.
Bahadar, Hakeemullah, South Waziristan Taliban commander Mullah Nazir, and Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani Network, are members of the Shura-e-Murakeba, an alliance formed in late 2011. The four commanders agreed to cease attacks against Pakistani security forces, refocus efforts against the US and NATO in Afghanistan, and end kidnappings and other criminal activities in the tribal areas.
The deal was brokered by senior al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al Libi as well as by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the operational leader of the Haqqani Network, and Mullah Mansour, a senior Taliban leader who operates in eastern Afghanistan. An al Qaeda leader known as Abdur Rehman Al Saudi was also involved in the negotiations. Mullah Omar, the overall leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is said to have dispatched Siraj and Mansour to help negotiate the agreement [see LWJ report, Al Qaeda brokers new anti-US Taliban alliance in Pakistan and Afghanistan].
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/07/us_drones_strike_aga.php#ixzz1zNiqVdx3
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