Unmanned US Predator or Reaper strike aircraft killed four
"militants" in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North
Waziristan today. The strike is the first in more than two weeks.
The US drones fired a pair of missiles at a house in the bazaar in
Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, in the middle of the
night,
according to AFP. "The compound is located in the money changers market in the Miramshah commercial district," the news agency reported.
Pakistani intelligence official said that four "militants" were
killed and two more were wounded. The Taliban are reported to be
conducting recovery operations at the site of the attack, which is said
to be "located in the money changers market."
No senior al Qaeda or Taliban leaders or fighters have been reported killed in today's attack.
Al Qaeda's external operations network has been a prime target of the
covert US air campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas. The US has targeted
al Qaeda and Taliban camps designated to train operatives holding
foreign passports, while the leadership of the external operations
branch has also been hit hard. Additionally, the drone program has
targeted Taliban and other terror groups who attack NATO and Afghan
forces in Afghanistan.
The Haqqani Network, a Taliban group that operates in North
Waziristan as well as in eastern Afghanistan, administers the Miramshah
area. Al Qaeda leaders and operatives, who are closely allied with the
Haqqani Network, shelter in the area, as do other terror groups.
The US has added eight top leaders of the Haqqani Network, Including
Sirajudin Haqqani, the terror group's operational commander, to the list
of Specially Designated Global Terrorists [see
LWJ report,
UN adds 2 Haqqani Network leaders to terrorist list].
The Haqqani Network has not been officially designated as a terrorist
group despite its overt support for al Qaeda and other terror groups.
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