American missiles kill 18 in Pakistan
Source: Agencies |
December 28, 2010, Tuesday
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SUSPECTED American missiles struck two vehicles in a Taliban stronghold in Pakistan yesterday, killing 18 alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The attack in the North Waziristan tribal region came in the final days of a year that has witnessed an -unprecedented number of such strikes from drone aircraft flying over Pakistani soil, part of the United States campaign to take out al-Qaida and Taliban fighters seeking sanctuary outside Afghanistan.
At least 110 such missile strikes have been launched this year - more than doubling last year's total. Nearly all have landed in North Waziristan, a region that hosts several militant groups battling US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, including the feared Haqqani network.
The six missiles fired yesterday struck the vehicles in the Shera Tala village of North Waziristan. Shera Tala lies in Mir Ali district, where militants are concentrated. The identities of the 18 dead were not immediately known.
The vehicles were apparently leaving a compound, and one was carrying a large load of ammunition, magnifying the blasts from the missile strikes, the officials said.
Pakistan officially protests the strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and anger tribesmen whose support it needs to fight extremists. But Islamabad is widely believed to secretly support the strikes and provide intelligence for at least some of them.
US officials rarely discuss the covert, CIA-run missile program. Privately, however, they say it is a crucial tool and has killed several top -militant leaders. They also say the drone-fired strikes are very accurate and usually succeed in killing militants.
However, information from Pakistan's tribal belt is very hard to verify independently.
The attack in the North Waziristan tribal region came in the final days of a year that has witnessed an -unprecedented number of such strikes from drone aircraft flying over Pakistani soil, part of the United States campaign to take out al-Qaida and Taliban fighters seeking sanctuary outside Afghanistan.
At least 110 such missile strikes have been launched this year - more than doubling last year's total. Nearly all have landed in North Waziristan, a region that hosts several militant groups battling US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, including the feared Haqqani network.
The six missiles fired yesterday struck the vehicles in the Shera Tala village of North Waziristan. Shera Tala lies in Mir Ali district, where militants are concentrated. The identities of the 18 dead were not immediately known.
The vehicles were apparently leaving a compound, and one was carrying a large load of ammunition, magnifying the blasts from the missile strikes, the officials said.
Pakistan officially protests the strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and anger tribesmen whose support it needs to fight extremists. But Islamabad is widely believed to secretly support the strikes and provide intelligence for at least some of them.
US officials rarely discuss the covert, CIA-run missile program. Privately, however, they say it is a crucial tool and has killed several top -militant leaders. They also say the drone-fired strikes are very accurate and usually succeed in killing militants.
However, information from Pakistan's tribal belt is very hard to verify independently.
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