Four US drone strikes kill 47 people in N Waziristan

Published: July 12, 2011

A US drone targeted a house and a vehicle in Datta Khel with 10 missiles killing eight people. PHOTO: AFP

DATTA KHEL: Forty seven people were killed in 4 drone strikes in the last 24 hours in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
Sources said a US drone targeted a house and a vehicle in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan with 10 missiles killing eight people.
Earlier in the day three drone attacks killed 32 suspected militants in the area. The US drones targeted a compound and a vehicle in tehsil Shawal of North Waziristan and fired four missiles this morning.
Eighteen people were killed and the vehicle and compound were completely destroyed in the attack.
Last night, 10 militants were killed as a drone targeted a vehicle and compound in Datta Khel, North Waziristan.
Earlier, a drone strike had also killed four people and injured seven others in the Bermel area of South Waziristan.
More than 90 militants have been killed since June in drone attacks, according to Reuters figures based on statements from local intelligence officials.
Pakistan has regularly complained about the US drone strikes, saying they complicate Islamabad’s efforts to win the support of the Pakistani people and isolate the militants in border regions.
Pakistan-US relations have steadily declined since 2010,with ties severely weakened following the killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor in January, and the US raid that killed bin Laden in May, which Pakistan says was a breach of its sovereignty.
The United States this week said it was holding off $800million in military aid to Pakistan in a show of displeasure over Pakistan’s cutback of U.S. military trainers, limits on visa for US personnel and other bilateral irritants.
The United States has intensified drone aircraft missile strikes in Pakistan’s northwest along the Afghan border.
The CIA operates a covert drone programme which targets suspected militants in countries like Pakistan.
It’s possibly the United States’ worst-kept secret even though it has opened up a debate about the legality of international state-sponsored killing of adversaries.
The United States is essentially deploying aerial robots to wage war along the inaccessible border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.