US Drone Attack on Sunday Kills 3 in North Waziristan

US airstrike kill 3 suspeted militants in North Waziristan
from KHAAMA
By Sajad - Sun Dec 09, 12:16 pm

An unmanned US drone fired a barrage of missiles in North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, killing at least three people on Sunday.

The strike took place in Tabbi village, 5km north of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

“US drones fired four missiles on a militant compound, killing three rebels,” a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Sunday’s U.S. drone strike is the 38th of its kind (counted on daily basis) in Pakistan in 2012. At least 269 people have been killed in such strikes since this year.

Pakistan has long been opposing US drone attacks in its tribal belt that borders Afghanistan, where US and its ally forces are station.

Tabbi village, which is very close to the Afghan border, is said to be a hideout for militants belonging to several groups including those from Hafiz Gul Bahadur and the Haqqani network.

The al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan, is one of the thorniest issues between Islamabad and Washington.

Washington has long demanded that Pakistan take action against the Haqqanis, whom the United States accused of attacking the US embassy in Kabul in September last year.

This comes as Abu Zaid was killed in the drone strike on a hideout in Pakistan’s North Waziristan, one of the tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan, early on Thursday, the sources said. Zaid had just moved to the hideout a few days ago, they said.

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US drone kills three in North Waziristan
from GEO.TV
December 09, 2012 - Updated 1123 PKT

MIRANSHAH: An unmanned US drone fired a barrage of missiles in North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, killing at least three people on Sunday, Geo News reported.

Sources said the drone targeted a house in Tabbi area of Ghulam Khan road in Miranshah, main town of North Waziristan Agency.

The sources said that the unmanned aircraft fired four missiles in the area. They said that the drone was still hovering over head in the area.

Pakistan has long been opposing US drone attacks in its tribal belt that borders Afghanistan, where US and its ally forces are based.

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US drone attack kills four in North Waziristan
from ARYNEWS.TV
 Updated :   Sunday  December  9 , 2012  12:24:31 PM
A United Stated drone attack in Pakistan’s tribal region of North Waziristan, killing at least four people and injuring several others, political sources said on Sunday.

According to the sources US unmanned drone fired four missiles at a compound in Miran Shah, capital city of North Waziristan, and killed at least four people. Several other sustained injuries in the US attack.

The sources further stated that the death toll may increase as several injured were stated to be in critical condition.

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US drone strike kills three in North Waziristan: officials

MIRAMSHAH: A US drone strike on Saturday killed at least three militants in Pakistan’s restive tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The strike took place in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, known as a bastion of the Taliban and al Qaeda.

The drone targeted a moving vehicle and fired two missiles, they said.

“The identity of the militants was immediately unclear but this area is mostly occupied by members of the militant commander Gul Bahadur’s group,” a security official in Peshawar told AFP.

Another official on the ground in Miranshah said that the vehicle had been driving through a village 35 kilometers (around 20 miles) west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan tribal district.

“We have reports that two militants of Gul Bahadur group were also injured in the attack,” he told AFP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

from DAWN

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Six killed in drone attack in North Waziristan

PESHAWAR: Six people were reported killed in a suspected US drone strike in northwestern Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region on Saturday, DawnNews reported.

Moreover, two people were also reported to have been injured in the attack.
The drone fired four missiles that targeted a vehicle and a compound in the tribal region’s Degan area.
A senior security official told AFP that several drones were flying in the area at the time of the attack.
Another security official confirmed the strike.
He said the area had been the target of US drone strikes in the past, which killed several foreign militants.
The district is a stronghold of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant group, he said, adding that militants from the Haqqani network also operated in Degan.
Attacks by unmanned American aircraft are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, which says they violate its sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment, but US officials are said to believe the attacks are too important to give up.
Washington regards Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt as the main hub of Taliban and Al Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.

from DAWN 
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from KHAAMA:
By Sajad - Sat Sep 01, 1:54 pm

U.S. drones fired a barrage of missiles at a vehicle and a house in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan Saturday, killing at least four suspected militants, Pakistani officials said.

The strike took place in Degan area of North Waziristan, known as a bastion of Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

“US drones fired four missiles on a compound, killing four militants,” a senior security official told AFP.

The district is a stronghold of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant group, he said, adding that militants from the Afghan Taliban allied Haqqani network also operate in Degan.

Bahadur’s faction is alleged to have been involved in frequent attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but generally shies away from carrying out operations inside Pakistan. Several recent drone strikes have killed militants affiliated with Bahadur’s group.

Pakistan, on a number of occasions, protested and showed reservations over such attacks, terming them as the violation of its sovereignty and a big reason of collateral damage.
Pakistani parliament also passed a resolution against the drone strikes.

However Washington maintains the program is a necessary and effective tool in combatting militants.

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Badruddin Haqqani rumored killed in US drone strike

By Bill Roggio - August 25, 2012 - LWJ

Badruddin Haqqani.
Click to view slide show
of the Haqqani Network leader.

US officials believe that Badruddin Haqqani, one of the top leaders of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network, may have been killed in a recent US drone strike in North Waziristan.

US officials have told The New York Times that intelligence from the region indicates that Badruddin was killed in one of the five drone strikes that have taken place in the past week. Intelligence officials are attempting to confirm that Badruddin was indeed killed.

Yesterday, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that the remotely piloted Predators and Reapers were targeting an "important jihadi leader" the region, but his name was not disclosed.

The US launched five drone strikes in Pakistan's Taliban controlled-tribal agency of North Waziristan since Aug. 18. Four of the strikes have taken place in the Shawal Valley, a terrorist haven near the Afghan border, and one more occurred in Miramshah. Badruddin may have been killed in the Aug. 21 strike near Miramshah, which is the the traditional area of operations for the Haqqani Network in North Waziristan. However he may have been traveling in the Shawal Valley to coordinate activities in the area. The Shawal Valley, which is administered by North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar, is used to train fighters and stage attacks in Afghanistan.

Badruddin is one of the Haqqani Network's most senior leaders. He is considered to serve as the top deputy to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group's operational commander.

The US State department added Badruddin to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on May 11, 2011. In the designation, State said that he "sits on the Miramshah Shura [council], which has command and control over all Haqqani Network activities, and helps lead insurgents and foreign fighters in attacks against targets in southeastern Afghanistan."

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/08/badruddin_haqqani_ru.php#ixzz24Yaerhzd

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US drone strikes kill 12 in North Waziristan

At least 12 people have been killed when suspected United States drones dropped missiles on three areas in northwestern Pakistan on Friday.

"Five people were killed in the attack on Makki Ghar area, four in Andara and three in Darai Nishtar," in Shawal valley of North Waziristan, an official said.

The region is thought to harbour several militant bases of the Haqqani network and Hafiz Gul Bahadar group, who launch raids across the border on national and international troops in Afghanistan.

The identities of those killed was not known, the official said.

The strike came a day after Pakistan summoned a US diplomat to lodge a formal protest about the recent drone attacks, which it called "unlawful, against international law and a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty", a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Pakistan has also said the attacks bolster anti-US sentiment.
Washington insists they are necessary to target rebels in the lawless region, considered largely beyond the effective control of the Pakistani security forces.

from several agencies:
Yahoo
DNAINDIA
DAWN
REUTERS

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US drone strike kills 5 'militants' in North Waziristan

An unmanned American aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan Tuesday, killing five suspected militants and injuring two, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The officials further added the strike was carried out near Shana Khora village in North Waziristan marking the third drone attack in North Waziristan within three days.

According to local Pakistani officials, the area of the drone attacks is dominated by anti-U.S. militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur.

Bahadur’s group is known for frequent attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but generally it does not carry out operations inside Pakistan. Several recent drone strikes have killed militants affiliated with Bahadur’s group.

This comes as at least 10 suspected militants were killed following two strikes in North Waziristan on Sunday.

The covert CIA drone program has drawn strong criticism in Pakistan. Pakistani officials charge such strikes violate their country’s sovereignty. Many Pakistanis complain that the strikes kill innocent civilians.

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - Tue Aug 21, 9:39 pm

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US drone strike kills 5 'militants' in North Waziristan

By Bill Roggio - August 21, 2012 - LWJ

The US launched a drone strike today in a village near Miramshah, the main town in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, killing five "militants." The strike is the fourth in Pakistan in five days.
 The remotely piloted Predators or the more advanced Reapers fired several missiles at a vehicle as it traveled in the village of Shnakhura near Miramshah in North Waziristan, according to The Associated Press. Pakistani officials said that five militants were killed; no civilian casualties were reported.
The exact target of the strike has not been disclosed. No senior al Qaeda or allied jihadist commanders from foreign terrorist groups are reported to have been killed in the strike.
Hafiz Gul Bahadar, the leader of the Taliban in North Waziristan, administers the village where today's strike took place. Bahadar is known to shelter al Qaeda, the movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (or TTP), and allied terror groups. Several top al Qaeda leaders have been killed in areas under Bahadar's control.
Bahadar, TTP emir Hakeemullah Mehsud, South Waziristan TTP commander Mullah Nazir, and Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani Network are all 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, who was killed in a drone strike this year, 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/2012/08/us_drone_strike_kill_11.php#ixzz24GpUGUrq

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Third drone strike in 24 hours kills two in North Waziristan

MIRAMSHAH:At least two militants were killed on Sunday in the third drone attack in the past 24 hours in North Waziristan.

Missiles for the third time targeted the Shawal area of North Waziristan, killing two militants while officials said that the death toll could increase.

“At least two militants were killed and two others wounded when a US drone fired two missiles at the site of this morning’s attack where militants were removing the wreckage of their two destroyed vehicles,” a security official told AFP.

Another security official confirmed the attack and casualties.

The Shawal district of North Waziristan region is considered a bastion of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.

Earlier today, Pakistani intelligence officials said missiles fired from unmanned American spy planes hit two vehicles near the Afghan border, killing at least seven militants.

Three intelligence officials said the strike on Sunday came in the Mana area of North Waziristan.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

The officials said the area is dominated by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a commander whose forces often target US troops in Afghanistan, but they did not know whether his men were targeted.

The first strike which targeted a compound had killed at least six militants in Shuwedar village in Shawal district on Saturday.

from DAWN

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6 more 'militants' killed in drone strike in North Waziristan

By Bill Roggio - August 19, 2012 - LWJ

The US launched the second drone strike today in the past 24 hour in an area known as a terrorist haven in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more advanced Reapers fired several missiles at a vehicle in the Mana area in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan, according to AFP and Geo News. Five drones were seen circling over the attack site before and after the strike.

Pakistani officials said that between four and six "militants" were killed in the strike, but did not disclose their identities. No senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders were reported killed.

The strike is the second in Shawal in the past 24 hours. On Saturday, the drones hit a compound in the village of Shuwedar in the Shawal Valley in North Waziristan, killing six more "militants," according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry objected to the earlier strike in Shawal, and called the US incursions "a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity and also in contravention of international law," according to Dawn.

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.

So far this year, seven of the 30 drone strikes in Pakistan have hit targets in the Shawal Valley. Targeting in the area seems to be increasing; three of the last four strikes have taken place in the Shawal Valley. The previous strike in Shawal, on July 23, killed 12 "militants," including a Taliban commander loyal to Hafiz Gil Bahadar. Another, on July 1, is said to have killed several members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an al Qaeda-affiliated group that operates in Pakistan, China, and Central Asia.

Twelve of the 30 strikes in Pakistan this year have taken place since the beginning of June; 10 occurred in North Waziristan and two were in South Waziristan. Four senior al Qaeda and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leaders were killed in the strikes. [For data on the strikes, see LWJ reports, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2012; and Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2012.]

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/08/6_more_militants_kil.php#ixzz23zBy4L83

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US drone strike kills 5 'militants' in North Waziristan

By Bill Roggio - June 26, 2012 - LWJ

The US launched its first drone strike in Pakistan in nearly two weeks in Pakistan's tribal areas today. The latest strike took place in an area of North Waziristan that is known to harbor al Qaeda fighters.

The remotely piloted Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired two missiles at a compound in the remote Shawal Valley, according to AFP. Five "militants" were killed in the strike, Pakistani officials told the news agency.

No senior al Qaeda, Taliban, or allied jihadist commanders are reported to have been killed in today's strike.

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 border with Afghanistan.

Bahadar administers the Shawal Valley. In 2009, Bahadar sheltered the families of 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].

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/06/us_drone_strike_kill_8.php#ixzz1ywCPrtBF

Related articles

• http://dawn.com/2012/06/26/us-drone-strike-kills-at-least-five-in-north-waziristan/
• http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/26/world/asia/pakistan-drone-strike/index.html
• http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan-officials-say-us-drone-kills-militants/24627023.html

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Another 'good Taliban' commander ends polio vaccinations

South Waziristan Taliban leader Mullah Nazir [bottom-center]

by Bill Roggio - June 25, 2012 - LWJ

An influential Taliban leader in South Waziristan who is favored by the Pakistani military and government has become the third Taliban leader to order a halt to polio vaccinations in areas under his control.
Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Taliban in the Wazir tribal areas who is known to shelter top al Qaeda leaders, said the polio vaccination program is being used by the US to spy against terrorist groups and conduct drone strikes in the tribal areas.
"Polio and other foreign-funded vaccination drives in Wana sub division would not be allowed until US drone operations in the agency are stopped," a pamphlet issued by Nazir stated, according to Dawn.
"In the garb of these vaccination campaigns, the US and its allies are running their spying networks in FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Agencies] which has brought death and destruction on them in the form of drone strikes," the pamphlet continued.
Nazir referenced Dr. Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who aided the US in finding and killing Osama bin Laden. Afridi is currently serving a 33-year prison sentence for charges of supporting the Laskar-e-Islam, an Islamist terror group based in Khyber.
The pamphlet called Afridi a "traitor" and said his use of the vaccination program to find bin Laden was evidence that "infidel forces are using media, education, and development as a tool to gag Muslims."
Nazir's edict banning polio vaccinations is very similar to a decree issued by Hafiz Gul Bahadar, the leader of the Taliban in North Waziristan, who also shut down the anti-polio program in his tribal agency. In mid-June, Bahadar issued a statement that linked the polio vaccination program to drone strikes and Dr. Afridi, and said the program would not resume until the US air campaign ceased. [See LWJ report, 'Good' Taliban commander halts polio vaccinations over drone strikes.]
Both Nazir and Bahadar now follow in the footsteps of Mullah Fazlullah, the erratic commander of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan's faction in Swat, who has also ordered a ban on polio vaccinations. Fazlullah claimed that the anti-polio campaign was a Western plot to sterilize Muslims.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/06/another_good_taliban.php#ixzz1ysjq0Tr1

Related articles

• Another 'good Taliban' commander ends polio vaccinations (longwarjournal.org)

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US drone strike kills 4 'militants' in North Waziristan

By Bill Roggio - April 29, 2012 - LWJ

Today the US launched its first drone strike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency in nearly a month. The strike in North Waziristan targeted an abandoned school that is known to be used by foreign fighters.
The unmanned Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired a pair of missiles at the abandoned high school for girls that is located in the bazaar in Miramshah in North Waziristan. Four "militants" were said to have been killed in the strike, SAMAA reported, but their identity was not disclosed.
"We don't know about their identity and nationality but those living in the girls' school were mostly Arabs," the official said, according to SAMAA. Another Pakistani official told AFP that the school was occupied by Uzbek and Tajik militants, which is likely a reference to the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The IMU is closely allied with the Haqqani Network and is known to conduct operations with the group in eastern Afghanistan. During a raid in the eastern Afghan province of Wardak on April 25, Coalition special operations forces attempted to capture a senior Haqqani Network operative linked to the IMU's leadership cadre in Pakistan.
A Pakistani security official said today that intelligence officials intercepted communications between the militants that included a request for "four coffins for the slain men." More than two dozen fighters were believed to be occupying the school before it was struck.
Miramshah serves as the headquarters of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network, a powerful Taliban subgroup that operates in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and is supported by Pakistan's military and its Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. The Haqqani Network is one of four major Taliban groups that 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; Mullah Nazir's group; 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, and end kidnappings and other criminal activities in the tribal areas.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/04/us_drone_strike_kill_3.php#ixzz1tWSjj3eF

Related articles

• US drone strike kills 4 'militants' in North Waziristan (longwarjournal.org)

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Taliban, Haqqani factions attack tribal rivals in North Waziristan; 10 dead

By LWJ Staff - April 23, 2012 - TheLongWarJournal

At least 10 people, including five local Taliban, have been killed and dozens injured after hundreds of Taliban fighters loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Sirajuddin Haqqani clashed with local anti-Taliban tribesmen in the Shawa area of North Waziristan.

The fierce clash, which involved artillery and heavy weapons and lasted more than a day, subsided around April 20 after Pakistan deployed helicopter gunships to "disperse" the hundreds of militants, who were about to overrun the besieged villages. Tensions continue, however, as hundreds of heavily armed fighters from both sides remain dug in among the rugged hills of Shawa. The roadway linking Shawa and Thal is still cut off due to militant roadblocks, leaving dozens of wounded civilians desperately stranded.

The clash began late on April 18 after Taliban fighters laid siege against local Wazir Qabul-Miamai Khel* tribesmen loyal to Haji Shah Mahmud and Malek Karim Khan. A spate of abductions and retaliatory murders between the two sides earlier this month had prompted the explosion of violence, pitting Hafiz Gul Bahadur's more dominant Utmanzai Wazir (Madda Khel) Taliban militia against a cadre of former Tehrik-e-Taliban members led by prominent Qabul-Miamai Khel tribal leader Haji Shah Mahmud and his extended family: Malek Karim Khan, Sayed Sattar, Rasheed Khan, and Jehanzab Khan.

Approximately two weeks ago, gunmen loyal to Sayed Sattar assassinated a local Taliban commander named Haji Qadir Khan, a reported associate of Sirajuddin Haqqani, in the nearby Thal Adda Masjid Bazaar area of Hangu district. The killing was widely viewed as retribution for the abduction and murder of two Qabul-Miamai Khel tribesmen last year; one of those abducted was the son of Malek Karim Khan.

In retaliation for the killing of Haji Qadir Khan, as many as 1,200 heavily armed militants launched a predawn assault against Almar village, targeting the home of Sayed Sattar, and the Malik Shadam Khan village, where Malek Karim Khan and his fighters were holed up with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy artillery. Three local tribesmen and a woman were killed in the initial clashes, including a local tribal elder named Gulbuddin who was trying to negotiate a ceasefire between the two sides. The fighting also injured dozens of villagers, among them women and children, The News reports.

Continue and read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/04/taliban_haqqani_fact.php#ixzz1swefHWMm

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