US drone strike killed five in North Waziristan

Brushing aside the continued demand of Islamabad, a US drone attack Saturday targeted a militant compound, killing at least five people in Degan, the area of North Waziristan bordering with Afghanistan.

According to the media reports, three people were also reported to have been injured in the attack.

It is vital to mention here that the Dega is considered stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants. A senior security official while talking to the media observed that the drone fried four missiles on a house and killed four militants.

Earlier, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency claimed that the operational commander of the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network responsible for spectacular attacks on Kabul, Badruddin Haqqani had been killed in a US drone strike in the tribal region of Pakistan.

US drone strikes attacks are deeply unpopular in the country, which says they violate its sovereignty and fan anti-American sentiment. However, the Obama administration is said to believe the attacks are too important to give up.

A day after Pakistan formally protested to the US over a string of unlawful drone strikes in its tribal regions, the unmanned planes carried out three consecutive attacks in North Waziristan Agency and targeted over a dozen people.

The recent attacks came amid reports of a thaw in Pakistan’s generally deteriorating ties with the US following a visit to Washington by DG ISI, Lieutenant General Zaheerul Islam, earlier this month. However, everything isn’t looked fine at all fronts.

Earlier on Friday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said drone attacks are counterproductive in the war against terrorism.

While speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Non Alignment Movement Summit‚ the minister said Pakistan has a clear stance on the drone attacks and these are unhelpful in fighting the menace of extremism.

According to the statistics, such attacks have killed more than 5,000 people in the last five years while 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism since the 9/11 attacks.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=31960

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Sep 1 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.