U.S. Predator Drone Strike In North Waziristan Leaves 5 Taliban Dead

It's been a bit since the last predator drone strike in NW Pakistan but today's hit on a target rich training area of al Qaeda and the Taliban found its mark and killed five Taliban jihadis.

From the report at The Long War Journal:

The US carried out a Predator airstrike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan today, killing five "militants" in an area known to host terrorist training camps. The attack took place just one day after the top US military leader visited Islamabad in an attempt to patch up a troubled relationship between the two countries.

A pair of the unmanned US Predator strike aircraft, or the more deadly Reapers, fired four missiles at a compound in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan. Initial reports indicate that five terrorists were killed but the toll may rise, Pakistani intelligence officials told Reuters.

No senior al Qaeda, Taliban, or other terrorist leaders have been reported killed in today's strike.

The Mir Ali area is in the sphere of influence of Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an al Qaeda leader who serves as a key link to the Taliban and supports al Qaeda's external operations network. Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network also operate in the Mir Ali area. Moreover, Mir Ali is a known hub for al Qaeda's military and external operations councils.

I'm not sure if any of you saw it but the U.S. has agreed to sell a bunch of predator drones to Pakistan - I think part of that is the Pakistanis finally agreeing that the drone program has been extremely productive in battling the bad guys in the NW area of the country, but my concern is what the Pakistanis might do with these in regards to India.

It's my hope that the Pakistanis will unleash drones on North Waziristan - the fact of the matter is that there could easily be four drone strikes per day, EVERY day in that agency and there would still be plenty of Taliban running around.

US Predators kill 5 'militants' in North Waziristan



The US carried out a Predator airstrike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan today, killing five "militants" in an area known to host terrorist training camps. The attack took place just one day after the top US military leader visited Islamabad in an attempt to patch up a troubled relationship between the two countries.

A pair of the unmanned US Predator strike aircraft, or the more deadly Reapers, fired four missiles at a compound in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan. Initial reports indicate that five terrorists were killed but the toll may rise, Pakistani intelligence officials told Reuters.

No senior al Qaeda, Taliban, or other terrorist leaders have been reported killed in today's strike.

The Mir Ali area is in the sphere of influence of Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an al Qaeda leader who serves as a key link to the Taliban and supports al Qaeda's external operations network. Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network also operate in the Mir Ali area. Moreover, Mir Ali is a known hub for al Qaeda's military and external operations councils.

Since Sept. 8, 2010, a total of 16 Germans and two Britons have been reported killed in Predator strikes in the Mir Ali area. The Europeans were members of the Islamic Jihad Group, an al Qaeda affiliate based in the Mir Ali area. The IJU members are believed to be involved in a recently discovered al Qaeda plot that targeted several major European cities and was modeled after the terror assault on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008.

Mir Ali also hosts at least three suicide training camps for the the Fedayeen-i-Islam, an alliance between the Pakistani Taliban, the anti-Shia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. A Fedayeen spokesman recently claimed that more than 1,000 suicide bombers have trained at three camps. One failed suicide bomber corroborated the Fedayeen spokesman's statement, claiming that more than 350 suicide bombers trained at his camp.

Over the past year, the US has been pounding targets in the Datta Khel, Miramshah, and Mir Ali areas of North Waziristan in an effort to kill members involved in the European plot. Al Qaeda and allied terror groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Group, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and a number of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups host or share camps in the region.

Despite the known presence of al Qaeda and other foreign groups in North Waziristan, and requests by the US that action be taken against these groups, the Pakistani military has indicated that it has no plans to take on Bahadar or the Haqqani Network. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

Just yesterday, during a visit to Islamabad, Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the strikes would continue and pressured Pakistan to launch an operation in North Waziristan. Mullen said that elements of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency have a "relationship" with the Haqqani Network, but he stopped short of accusing the ISI of supporting the Haqqanis.

Mullen's statement angered Pakistani military leaders, who denied that they support the Haqqanis. Pakistan's military and civilian government continue to call on the US to end the attacks, despite having privately approved the strikes since the program ramped up in July 2008.

The Predator strikes, by the numbers

Today's strike is just the second in April in Pakistan, and the first since April 13. That strike took place in South Waziristan, and occurred just one day after the chief of the ISI visited Washington to discuss intelligence ties with the US.

During the month of March, the US carried out seven Predator strikes inside Pakistan's tribal areas. Five of the seven strikes in March hit targets in North Waziristan, and the other two took place in South Waziristan.

February 2011 proved to be the slowest month for Predator strikes, with three, since November 2009. The recent slowdown in attacks has occurred after the pace of the strikes picked up from the beginning of September 2010 until the third week in January 2011. September's record number of 21 strikes was followed by 16 strikes in October, 14 in November, 12 in December, and 9 in January. The previous monthly high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. The suicide bombing at COP Chapman killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The US carried out 117 attacks inside Pakistan in 2010, more than double the number of strikes that occurred in 2009. By late August 2010, the US had exceeded 2009's strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram. In 2008, the US carried out a total of 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

In 2010 the strikes were concentrated almost exclusively in North Waziristan, where the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups are based. All but 13 of the 117 strikes took place North Waziristan. Of the 13 strikes occurring outside of North Waziristan in 2010, seven were executed in South Waziristan, five were in Khyber, and one was in Kurram. That trend is holding true this year, with 16 of 19 strikes in 2011 taking place in North Waziristan.

Since Sept. 1, 2010, the US has conducted 81 strikes in Pakistan's tribal agencies. The bulk of those attacks have aimed at the terror groups in North Waziristan, with 69 strikes in the tribal agency. Many of the strikes have targeted cells run by the Islamic Jihad Group, which have been plotting to conduct Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. A Sept. 8 strike killed an IJG commander known as Qureshi, who specialized in training Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.

The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda's external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda's external operations. The campaign has been largely successful in focusing on terrorist targets and avoiding civilian casualties, as recently affirmed by the Pakistani military. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

U.S. Drones Are Back! Strike On South Waziristan Kills Six Taliban In Vehicle

Just the other day I blogged about the very long lull in U.S. predator drone strikes in Pakistan since the strike that took out nearly 40 including Pakistani tribesmen....well, the lull is over! This morning, U.S. drones hit South Waziristan, specifically a vehicle carrying Taliban and killed six.

From the report at DAWN:

US drones fired four missiles into a vehicle in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border, killing six suspected militants on Wednesday, Pakistani security officials said.

It was the first drone strike reported in Pakistan since March 17, when 39 people, including civilians, died in an attack that further shook the fragile alliance between Pakistan and the United States in the war on militants.

“It was a US drone attack. Four missiles were fired. The target was a vehicle. Several militants were killed. The death toll is six,” one Pakistani military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another Pakistani security official confirmed the same details of the attack near the small town of Angoor Adda in South Waziristan district, around six kilometres from the border with Afghanistan.

This could very well be the U.S. testing the waters a little bit with the Pakistani government...if this goes relatively unnoticed, then we are back in business but there's a chance there will be more condemnations and then I'd expect we are in for another lull. The article mentions the meetings between U.S. and Pakistani intelligence officials...I'm just not sure that this strike would come that quickly even if that meeting was productive.

The sad part of all of this is that North Waziristan is chocked full of hundreds of viable targets right now and time's afleeting. Hopefully, the Pakistanis will see six men who wanted the destruction of their country are now dead and gone.

Six killed in first drone strike after spy chief meeting


PESHAWAR: US drones fired four missiles into a vehicle in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border, killing six suspected militants on Wednesday, Pakistani security officials said.

It was the first drone strike reported in Pakistan since March 17, when 39 people, including civilians, died in an attack that further shook the fragile alliance between Pakistan and the United States in the war on militants.

“It was a US drone attack. Four missiles were fired. The target was a vehicle. Several militants were killed. The death toll is six,” one Pakistani military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another Pakistani security official confirmed the same details of the attack near the small town of Angoor Adda in South Waziristan district, around six kilometres from the border with Afghanistan.

The latest attack came days after Pakistan’s spy chief Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha met with his US counterpart in the United States to discuss how to improve cooperation and coordination in the war on terror.

After Controversial Predator Drone Strike That Killed 40 In Pakistan, U.S. Drone Program Is On Hold

As this article at The Long War Journal states, it's been 23 days since a U.S. predator drone has struck any target in NW Pakistan - the fourth longest period ever without a strike and more than likely, this current lull will end up as the longest period ever.

I wanted to make this clear to everyone who is used to every predator drone strike being reported here at laden ladenfam - I wanted you all to know I haven't missed any strikes or simply not reported them. This info comes from an article on another topic but includes:

The US Predator campaign is on hold after the March 17 strike in Datta Khel that killed a senior Taliban commander, 11 fighters, and more than 30 tribesmen. The strike reportedly took place as the Taliban tried to broker a deal over mineral rights in the area. Top Pakistani military leaders and government officials publicly denounced the March 17 strike.

There has not been a strike in 23 days; the current pause is the fourth-longest period without an attack since the US dramatically ramped up the program in August 2008.

This whole issue defines what is wrong with Pakistan in general. Imagine, a country that has been ravaged by the Taliban...a top political leader assassinated by the same group...the country's nuclear weapons actually rumored to be in jeopardy of confiscation by the same group and yet, in a strike like this where some serious Taliban leadership is taken out, the Pakistani government feels the need to denounce the drones.

Let's get to the real facts here - in the past two years the Taliban have killed not 30 tribesmen in NW Pakistan but in the THOUSANDS of tribesmen but the Pakistani government feels the need to be outraged by the drone strike. And up until this strike, we saw the Pakistani government relishing in the fact that the American strikes were indeed affecting the Taliban. I personally think the drone strikes will be back on in about 3 weeks....the Pakistani government is going to agree that if they go back to what things were like three years ago, they will be on the edge of destruction.

Lashkar-e-Khorasan executes 3 'US spies' in North Waziristan



The Lashkar-e-Khorasan executed three so-called "US spies" in North Waziristan. From the Daily Times via the South Asia Terrorism Portal:

Two tribesmen and an Afghan national were killed on charges of spying for United States in two separate places in North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on April 8, reports Daily Times. Sources said that the dead body of Aziz, an Afghan national, was found near Nowrek village in Mir Ali tehsil (revenue unit) and those of two local tribesmen, Inayatullah and Shah Wali, were spotted in Pir Kali area near Miramshah. Chits strapped to the bodies said the three had been killed because they were spying for the US.

The Taliban established the Lashkar-e-Khorasan late last year to root out tribesmen and Taliban members thought to be providing information to US and Pakistani intelligence officials for use in the US' Predator air campaign. For more on the group, see Taliban create Lashkar-e-Khorasan to hunt Predator spies.

The US Predator campaign is on hold after the March 17 strike in Datta Khel that killed a senior Taliban commander, 11 fighters, and more than 30 tribesmen. The strike reportedly took place as the Taliban tried to broker a deal over mineral rights in the area. Top Pakistani military leaders and government officials publicly denounced the March 17 strike.

There has not been a strike in 23 days; the current pause is the fourth-longest period without an attack since the US dramatically ramped up the program in August 2008.

Holy Hellfire! U.S. Predator Drone Strikes Kills 22 Taliban In North Waziristan....Not a Typo, 22 Taliban Taken Out!

This is by far the largest number of Taliban taken out in a single predator drone strike that I have documented - and by a long shot. In a predator drone strike today that hit a compound full of meeting Taliban and possible a vehicle as well, 22 Taliban have been confirmed killed in the strike. In most predator drone strikes we typically see three to six Taliban killed with eight being taken out in a heavy hit. But to see 22 taken out is like winning the lottery!

From the article at DAWN:

A US drone strike on Thursday killed at least 22 militants in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region, DawnNews reported.

There were conflicting accounts about the target of the attack in the Dattakhel region of North Waziristan.

The area is a stronghold of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a Taliban commander who harbours and sends militants across the border to fight western forces in Afghanistan.

One official said the missiles targeted a house as elders loyal to Bahadur were trying to mediate between two warring militant groups inside.

Another official said the drone attacked a vehicle in the area that was passing by a house where some local tribesmen were holding a meeting, killing them.

I'm pretty surprised that the Taliban would make this kind of mistake - that they would have this many jihadis gather together in North Waziristan. I gotta believe the drone operators were licking their chops as they saw group after group of Taliban file into this building for the meeting. The article doesn't say how many hellfires were pumped into that building but to kill that many Taliban, one has to believe that there were at least two predator drones involved in this operation.

Drone attack kills 22 in North Waziristan


MIRAMSHAH: A US drone strike on Thursday killed at least 22 militants in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region, DawnNews reported.

There were conflicting accounts about the target of the attack in the Dattakhel region of North Waziristan.

The area is a stronghold of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a Taliban commander who harbours and sends militants across the border to fight western forces in Afghanistan.

One official said the missiles targeted a house as elders loyal to Bahadur were trying to mediate between two warring militant groups inside.

Another official said the drone attacked a vehicle in the area that was passing by a house where some local tribesmen were holding a meeting, killing them.

It was not immediately known if those in the vehicle were also hit.

The United States has been attacking al Qaeda-linked militants for the past few years in Pakistan’s tribal areas using drones, which are a source of worry for the government because civilians casualties inflame public anger and bolster support for the militants.

North Waziristan, where most of the drone attacks have occurred, is the only one of the seven Pakistani tribal regions where Pakistan’s army has not yet launched any major operation against the militants.

Washington has in recent months mounted pressure on Pakistan to go after militants in North Waziristan. Pakistan has said it will do so but on its own schedule and when adequate resources are available.

Did You Know That America Is Flying Spy Drones Over Mexico?

In this article at The Telegraph, I learned, for the first time, that the U.S. government has teamed up with Mexico to try and battle the drug cartels along the U.S./Mexico border by providing unmanned spy drones to fly along the border and gather intel on drug movements. Perhaps I'm a mushroom here but I had no idea this was going on. I find it interesting that the Mexicans are insisting that they are running this surveillance program - let's see...the drones are American, the pilots of the drones are American....hmmmm.

From the report:

The country's National Security Council said in a statement that the unmanned aircraft have flown over Mexico on specific occasions, mainly along the border with the U.S., to gather information at the request of the Mexican government.

The flights expand the U.S. role in the drug war, in which Americans already have been training Mexican soldiers and police as well as co-operating on other intelligence.

"When these operations are carried out, they are always done with the authorisation, oversight and supervision of national agencies, including the Mexican Air Force," the council said.

It said Mexico always defines the objectives, the information to be gathered and the specific tasks in which the drones will be used and insisted that the operations respected Mexican law, civil and human rights.

So, my next question is this - why aren't these drones equipped with hellfire missiles so when they happen upon five Mexican drug cartel vehicles who have their trucks loaded with drugs and members of the cartel present have automatic weapons, the hellfires can be loosed and rained down upon these Mexican terrorists? Why not?

Do we needs drones to tell us that there are drugs passing over the border into America? Do we need drones to tell us that the cartel people running the drugs are armed? Do we need drones to tell us where along the border they are coming in? Well, obviously, the answer to all those questions is a resounding "hell no." I guess one thing the drones could try to do would to determine the origination point of these drug cartel excursions but I like the idea better of adding the firepower.

Mexico allows US drones into its territory


The country's National Security Council said in a statement that the unmanned aircraft have flown over Mexico on specific occasions, mainly along the border with the U.S., to gather information at the request of the Mexican government.

The flights expand the U.S. role in the drug war, in which Americans already have been training Mexican soldiers and police as well as co-operating on other intelligence.

"When these operations are carried out, they are always done with the authorisation, oversight and supervision of national agencies, including the Mexican Air Force," the council said.

It said Mexico always defines the objectives, the information to be gathered and the specific tasks in which the drones will be used and insisted that the operations respected Mexican law, civil and human rights.

The drones "have been particularly useful in achieving various objectives of combating crime and have significantly increased Mexican authorities' capabilities and technological superiority in its fight against crime," the council said.

The drone operations were first reported on Wednesday by The New York Times.

Mexican politicians have often criticised the involvement of U.S. agencies on Mexican soil. Last week, the Mexican Senate voted to summon Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan, to talk about allegations that U.S. agents allowed guns to be smuggled into Mexico as part of investigations into drug trafficking.

Mexican Sen. Luis Alberto Villareal said direct U.S. involvement "violates trust and undermines national sovereignty."

More than 35,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderón launched a stepped-up offensive against the cartels in late 2006.

Mid Week Predator Drone Attack Rocks North Waziristan, 4 Taliban Lose Their Heads

A rare Wednesday predator drone strike in Pakistan has just taken place in North Waziristan with four Taliban being killed in the strike.

This is the fifth strike in the past four days and reminds us all of the heyday of predator drones strike succession from a few months ago. And as is usually the case, North Waziristan is the target area. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the first Thursday with a strike in quite some time.

The report is from DAWN:

Four killed in US drone strike in North Waziristan


MIRAMSHAH: At least four people were killed in a US drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal region on Wednesday, DawnNews reported.

The drone fired two missiles on a vehicle in the tribal region’s Dattakhel area.

The deeply unpopular covert US drone campaign, which operates with the tacit consent of Pakistani officials, has been ramped up recently as the missiles target insurgents believed to be hiding in the lawless border regions.

Missile attacks doubled in the area last year as the covert campaign was stepped up, with more than 100 drone strikes killing over 670 people in 2010 compared with 45 strikes that killed 420 in 2009, according to an AFP tally.

Most have been concentrated in North Waziristan, the alleged Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda bastion in Pakistan, where the United States wants the Pakistan military to launch a ground offensive.

Pakistan has however stalled on launching such an offensive in the region, saying its troops are already overstretched.

Third Predator Drone Strike In Three Days Takes Out 3 Taliban in North Waziristan

Well, to say our predator drones have been busy this weekend would be a bit of an understatement as Monday morning has seen a third drone strike in as many days....this latest strike occurred in North Waziristan as hellfire missiles hit a Taliban vehicle taking out three Taliban.

From the report at DAWN:

At least three militants died Monday in a US missile strike on a vehicle in a tribal town in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The drone fired two missiles on a suspect vehicle and initial reports suggest three militants were killed, according to a security official, requesting anonymity.

Another official confirmed the attack and said it took place about 10 kilometres east of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, a region infested by Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.

A security official in Peshawar city said the missile targeted a moving car and killed three militants.

As I have noted, starting about 3 months ago, the predator drone campaign has begun targeting more and more vehicles in these drone strikes - I've attributed that to superior intelligence on the ground and also a need to ensure a kill. Let's face it - not many Taliban walk away from a vehicle hit by two hellfires.

You'll see in the article excerpted below a mention that the Pakistani government is stating now that they can't start a military offensive in North Waziristan because their troops are stretched too thin across the country - on that I call bullshit. Right now, there is NO military offensive going on in any part of Pakistan that I can see - the real reason the Pakistanis are balking at the offensive is two fold: 1. They have some "friendly" elements of the Taliban in North Waziristan that they have made agreements with and 2. An offensive in North Waziristan would be the bloodiest and longest offensive in the history of the country.

Three killed in US drone strike in North Waziristan


MIRAMSHAH: At least three militants died Monday in a US missile strike on a vehicle in a tribal town in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The drone fired two missiles on a suspect vehicle and initial reports suggest three militants were killed, according to a security official, requesting anonymity.

Another official confirmed the attack and said it took place about 10 kilometres east of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, a region infested by Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.

A security official in Peshawar city said the missile targeted a moving car and killed three militants.

The deeply unpopular covert US drone campaign, which operates with the tacit consent of Pakistani officials, has been ramped up recently as the missiles target insurgents believed to be hiding in the lawless border regions.

Missile attacks doubled in the area last year as the covert campaign was stepped up, with more than 100 drone strikes killing over 670 people in 2010 compared with 45 strikes that killed 420 in 2009, according to an AFP tally.

Most have been concentrated in North Waziristan, the most notorious Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda bastion in Pakistan, where the United States wants the Pakistan military to launch a ground offensive as soon as possible.

Despite pressure from Washington, Pakistan has stalled on launching such an offensive in North Waziristan, saying its troops are already overstretched.

On Sunday a US drone attack killed six militants near the Afghan border.

The United States does not confirm drone attacks, but its military and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy them in the region.

The missile strikes cause widespread resentment among the Pakistani public, who see military action on their soil as a breach of national sovereignty.

But Islamabad tacitly cooperates with the bombing campaign, which US officials say has severely weakened al Qaeda’s leadership and killed high-value targets including the former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

US officials say Pakistan-based militants are helping to escalate the war in Afghanistan, putting up a deadly fight against 140,000 US-led Nato troops there and seeking to bring down the government in Kabul.

U.S. Predator Drones Rain Down Six Hellfires On Taliban Vehicle and Compound, Six Jihadis Dead

U.S. predator drones descended on North Waziristan today and fired a volley of six hellfire missiles at both a Taliban vehicle and a compound and the end result was the killing of six Taliban.

From the story at The Long War Journal:

Unmanned US strike aircraft conducted their second attack today, this time in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

The CIA operated Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired a barrage of six missiles at a compound run by a Taliban commander and a vehicle in the village of Spagla in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan, killing six "militants" and wounding five more, AFP reported.

"US drones fired six missiles targeting a militant vehicle and a nearby rebel compound owned by a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] leader, Rahimullah, killing six militants," a senior Pakistani security official told the news agency.

Spalga is a known hub of Taliban and al Qaeda activity. US Predators have struck targets in the village three other times since December 2009, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The last strike in the village took place on Feb. 21, 2011, when nine "militants" were killed in an attack on a compound.

The village of Spalga is located in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, a powerful Taliban group that is a favorite of Pakistan's military and intelligence services and is closely allied to al Qaeda. The Haqqani Network shelters and supports al Qaeda, and launches attacks against Coalition and Afghan forces across the border.

I gotta believe that for our drone operators, North Waziristan has got to look like the shallows of a lake at spawning time. There literally has to be Taliban vehicles and jihadis just lousy in certain areas and I'm convinced that we could probably conduct four operations a day for two weeks and not run out of targets. Obviously, we are looking for the highest value targets but the temptation to just rain hell down on these clowns must be overwhelming.

This leads to the other observation as to what would happen if you unleashed manned fixed wing aircraft on North Waziristan. I'm convinced that in that situation, we would probably see Taliban casualty numbers in the hundreds.

As it stands, the Pakistani military has not moved forward on any plans to go into North Waziristan as they said they would months ago. I doubt that will happen unless something breaks loose like the Taliban conducting a major operation in Pakistan that is traced back to North Waziristan. In the meantime, I guess we must settle for about 30 Taliban and/or al Qaeda being taken out each week in this manner.

US Predators strike again in Pakistan's tribal areas


Unmanned US strike aircraft conducted their second attack today, this time in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

The CIA operated Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired a barrage of six missiles at a compound run by a Taliban commander and a vehicle in the village of Spagla in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan, killing six "militants" and wounding five more, AFP reported.

"US drones fired six missiles targeting a militant vehicle and a nearby rebel compound owned by a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] leader, Rahimullah, killing six militants," a senior Pakistani security official told the news agency.

Spalga is a known hub of Taliban and al Qaeda activity. US Predators have struck targets in the village three other times since December 2009, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The last strike in the village took place on Feb. 21, 2011, when nine "militants" were killed in an attack on a compound.

The village of Spalga is located in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, a powerful Taliban group that is a favorite of Pakistan's military and intelligence services and is closely allied to al Qaeda. The Haqqani Network shelters and supports al Qaeda, and launches attacks against Coalition and Afghan forces across the border.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani Network, is a member of al Qaeda's Shura Majlis as well as the Taliban's Quetta Shura. The US government has placed a $5 million bounty out for Siraj and has placed him on the list of specially designated global terrorists.

The Predator strikes, by the numbers

The strike in North Waziristan is the second today. Earlier, US Predators fired four missiles at a vehicle in the Azam Wazsak area in South Waziristan, but missed their target. No one was killed in the strike.

The US has carried out four Predator strikes inside Pakistan's tribal areas this month. Two of the four strikes in March have hit targets in North Waziristan, and the other two took place in South Waziristan.

Three of the last seven strikes in Pakistan have taken place in Mullah Nazir's territory in South Waziristan, indicating a possible shift in focus from the tribal agency of North Waziristan, where the overwhelming majority of the strikes have occurred since January 2010.

A strike on March 8 this year also took place in Nazir's tribal areas. The previous strike in South Waziristan, on Feb. 20, broke a 28-day-long pause in Predator attacks in Pakistan. A senior al Qaeda operative named Abu Zaid al Iraqi and several members of the Punjabi Taliban are thought to have been killed in the Feb. 20 airstrike.

Many analysts speculated that the long pause in strikes from Jan. 23 to Feb. 20 was related to the shooting deaths in Lahore on Jan. 27 of two Pakistanis by a US consular official who worked for the CIA. Pakistan has refused to release the American.

But a look at the Predator strike history shows that there have been several long pauses in time between the strikes. The recent 28-day gap was not the longest since the US ramped up the program in August 2008. [See LWJ report, Analysis: Gap in Pakistan Predator strikes not unusual.]

February 2011 proved to be the slowest month for Predator strikes in a year, with three, since November 2009. The recent slowdown in attacks has occurred after the pace of the strikes picked up from the beginning of September 2010 until the third week in January 2011. September's record number of 21 strikes was followed by 16 strikes in October, 14 in November, 12 in December, and 9 in January. The previous monthly high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. The suicide bombing at COP Chapman killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The US carried out 117 attacks inside Pakistan in 2010, more than double the number of strikes that occurred in 2009. By late August 2010, the US had exceeded 2009's strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram. In 2008, the US carried out a total of 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

In 2010 the strikes were concentrated almost exclusively in North Waziristan, where the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups are based. All but 13 of the 117 strikes took place North Waziristan. Of the 13 strikes occurring outside of North Waziristan in 2010, seven were executed in South Waziristan, five were in Khyber, and one was in Kurram. That trend is holding true this year, with 13 of 16 strikes in 2011 taking place in North Waziristan.

Since Sept. 1, 2010, the US has conducted 78 strikes in Pakistan's tribal agencies. The bulk of those attacks have aimed at the terror groups in North Waziristan, with 67 strikes in the tribal agency. Many of the strikes have targeted cells run by the Islamic Jihad Group, which have been plotting to conduct Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. A Sept. 8 strike killed an IJG commander known as Qureshi, who specialized in training Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.

The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda's external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda's external operations. The campaign has been largely successful in focusing on terrorist targets and avoiding civilian casualties, as recently affirmed by the Pakistani military. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

U.S. Predator Drones Hit North Waziristan Jihadi Vehicle, 5 Taliban Killed

A number of Taliban chose the wrong time to take a spin in their vehicle late yesterday as two U.S. predator drones were following them and after the hellfires killed three in the vehicle on the first pass, two more Taliban were taken out on the second go around.

The strike happened in the Pakistani agency of North Waziristan.

From the article at The Long War Journal:

US Predators killed five "militants" today in an area of North Waziristan known to shelter al Qaeda and allied terror groups seeking to attack the West.

Unmanned Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired two missiles at a "militant" vehicle in the town of Khaisor, which is near the town of Mir Ali. Three terrorists were reported killed in the first volley. The Predators then circled back and fired four more missiles at the vehicle as the Taliban attempted to recover the bodies. Two more were reported killed.

No senior al Qaeda, Taliban, or other terrorist leaders have been reported killed in today's strike. But the nature of the strike, including the follow-up attack using four missiles, indicates that a wanted leader or a dangerous operative was the target of the attack.

This is a good sign that perhaps the drones are getting back onto a more regular schedule as the last strike was about 4 days ago and usually the weekend holds the most bounty. Perhaps we will see a couple of more strikes by the time Monday rolls around. Let's hope.

US Predators kill 5 in al Qaeda haven in North Waziristan


US Predators killed five "militants" today in an area of North Waziristan known to shelter al Qaeda and allied terror groups seeking to attack the West.

Unmanned Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired two missiles at a "militant" vehicle in the town of Khaisor, which is near the town of Mir Ali. Three terrorists were reported killed in the first volley. The Predators then circled back and fired four more missiles at the vehicle as the Taliban attempted to recover the bodies. Two more were reported killed.

No senior al Qaeda, Taliban, or other terrorist leaders have been reported killed in today's strike. But the nature of the strike, including the follow-up attack using four missiles, indicates that a wanted leader or a dangerous operative was the target of the attack.

US Predators have struck once before in Khaisor, on May 16, 2009. In that airstrike, which targeted a Taliban madrassa and a vehicle in the town, 25 Taliban and al Qaeda operatives are reported to have been killed and several more were wounded.

The Mir Ali area is in the sphere of influence of Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an al Qaeda leader who serves as a key link to the Taliban and supports al Qaeda's external operations network. Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network also operate in the Mir Ali area. Moreover, Mir Ali is a known hub for al Qaeda's military and external operations councils.

Since Sept. 8, 2010, a total of 16 Germans and two Britons have been reported killed in Predator strikes in the Mir Ali area. The Europeans were members of the Islamic Jihad Group, an al Qaeda affiliate based in the Mir Ali area. The IJU members are believed to be involved in a recently discovered al Qaeda plot that targeted several major European cities and was modeled after the terror assault on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008.

Over the past year, the US has been pounding targets in the Datta Khel, Miramshah, and Mir Ali areas of North Waziristan in an effort to kill members involved in the European plot. Al Qaeda and allied terror groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Group, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and a number of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups host or share camps in the region.

Despite the known presence of al Qaeda and other foreign groups in North Waziristan, and requests by the US that action be taken against these groups, the Pakistani military has indicated that it has no plans to take on Bahadar or the Haqqani Network. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

The Predator strikes, by the numbers

Today's strike is just the second this month. The last Predator strike in Pakistan took place on March 8, when the CIA killed five "militants" in South Waziristan.

The previous strike in South Waziristan, on Feb. 20, broke a 28-day-long pause in Predator attacks. A senior al Qaeda operative named Abu Zaid al Iraqi and several members of the Punjabi Taliban are thought to have been killed in the Feb. 20 airstrike.

Many analysts speculated that the long pause in strikes from Jan. 23 to Feb. 20 was related to the shooting deaths in Lahore on Jan. 27 of two Pakistanis by a US consular official who worked for the CIA. Pakistan has refused to release the American.

But a look at the Predator strike history shows that there have been several long pauses in time between the strikes. The recent 28-day gap was not the longest since the US ramped up the program in August 2008 [see LWJ report, Analysis: Gap in Pakistan Predator strikes not unusual].

February 2011 proved to be the slowest month for Predator strikes in a year, with three, since November 2009. The recent slowdown in attacks has occurred after the pace of the strikes picked up from the beginning of September 2010 until the third week in January 2011. September's record number of 21 strikes was followed by 16 strikes in October, 14 in November, 12 in December, and 9 in January. The previous monthly high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. The suicide bombing at COP Chapman killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The US carried out 117 attacks inside Pakistan in 2010, more than double the number of strikes that occurred in 2009. By late August 2010, the US had exceeded 2009's strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram. In 2008, the US carried out a total of 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

In 2010 the strikes were concentrated almost exclusively in North Waziristan, where the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups are based. All but 13 of the 117 strikes took place North Waziristan. Of the 13 strikes occurring outside of North Waziristan in 2010, seven were executed in South Waziristan, five were in Khyber, and one was in Kurram. That trend is holding true this year, with 12 of 14 strikes in 2011 taking place in North Waziristan.

Since Sept. 1, 2010, the US has conducted 76 strikes in Pakistan's tribal agencies. The bulk of those attacks have aimed at the terror groups in North Waziristan, with 67 strikes in the tribal agency. Many of the strikes have targeted cells run by the Islamic Jihad Group, which have been plotting to conduct Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. A Sept. 8 strike killed an IJU commander known as Qureshi, who specialized in training Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.

The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda's external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda's external operations. The campaign has been largely successful in focusing on terrorist targets and avoiding civilian casualties, as recently affirmed by the Pakistani military. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

Pakistani Army General Comes To the Defense of U.S. Predator Drone Strikes In North Waziristan

Well, it's about time one of the Pakistani military stood up and told the truth about U.S. predator drone strikes in NW Pakistan and Major General Ghayur Mehmood has done just that as today he verified that the drones are killing major al Qaeda and Taliban targets and that the bullshit about civilian casualties is just that...bullshit.

From the story at The Long War Journal:

A senior Pakistani Army officer said that the covert US air campaign inside Pakistan's tribal areas is killing dangerous al Qaeda and Taliban fighters and that civilian casualties are low.

Major General Ghayur Mehmood, the commander of Pakistan's 7 Division, whose area of operations includes the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, said that "hardcore elements" of the Taliban and "foreigners" make up the bulk of those killed in the US airstrikes. Mehmood's North Waziristan territory has been the epicenter of the airstrike campaign in recent years. Since the beginning of 2010, 90 percent of the strikes (113 of the 130 strikes) have hit targets in North Waziristan, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal.

"Myths and rumours about US predator strikes and the casualty figures are many, but it's a reality that many of those being killed in these strikes are hardcore elements, a sizeable number of them foreigners," Mehmood told Pakistani reporters in a briefing in Miramshah in North Waziristan yesterday, according to Dawn.

Mehmood also said that "few" civilians have been killed in the strikes.

"Yes there are a few civilian casualties in such precision strikes, but a majority of those eliminated are terrorists, including foreign terrorist elements."

For far too long the out and out lies that the drones have killed civilians have been allowed to go unattacked - I would say out of the last 30 predator drone attacks in northwest Pakistan, the number of civilians killed even with a hint of that happening has been less than 10. Let's put it in a different perspective - Moammar Gadaffi of Libya has killed more civilians in the past week than have been killed by predator drones in the entirety of the Afghanistan War.

US Predators are killing 'hardcore elements' and 'foreigners' - Pakistani general


A senior Pakistani Army officer said that the covert US air campaign inside Pakistan's tribal areas is killing dangerous al Qaeda and Taliban fighters and that civilian casualties are low.

Major General Ghayur Mehmood, the commander of Pakistan's 7 Division, whose area of operations includes the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, said that "hardcore elements" of the Taliban and "foreigners" make up the bulk of those killed in the US airstrikes. Mehmood's North Waziristan territory has been the epicenter of the airstrike campaign in recent years. Since the beginning of 2010, 90 percent of the strikes (113 of the 130 strikes) have hit targets in North Waziristan, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal.

"Myths and rumours about US predator strikes and the casualty figures are many, but it's a reality that many of those being killed in these strikes are hardcore elements, a sizeable number of them foreigners," Mehmood told Pakistani reporters in a briefing in Miramshah in North Waziristan yesterday, according to Dawn.

Mehmood also said that "few" civilians have been killed in the strikes.

"Yes there are a few civilian casualties in such precision strikes, but a majority of those eliminated are terrorists, including foreign terrorist elements."

According to Mehmood, the CIA carried out 164 airstrikes between 2007 and 2011 using unmanned Predators and Reapers in Pakistan's tribal areas. He claimed that 964 terrorists, including 793 Pakistanis and 171 "foreigners," have been killed during that time period.

Mehmood stated that "Arabs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Chechens, Filipinos, and Moroccans" were among the foreigners killed. He did not provide the number of civilians killed during that time period.

According to data on the strikes compiled by The Long War Journal, there have been 223 strikes inside Pakistan since the beginning of 2007, with an estimated 1,694 Taliban and al Qaeda operatives and 88 civilians killed during that time frame. There have been 164 strikes in North Waziristan alone since 2007, which tallies with Mehmood's figure on the number of strikes, suggesting that he was referring only to airstrikes in North Waziristan. The Long War Journal's data is based on Pakistani press reports.

Numerous senior foreign al Qaeda and Taliban commanders have been killed in the strikes. See LWJ reports, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011, and Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.

Al Qaeda's external operations network is the primary target of the US air campaign, which is focused on top al Qaeda leaders and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states.

Mehmood's comments are unusual, as Pakistani officials rarely mention the US strikes except to denounce them as being unhelpful and to request that the US end the operations. But the Pakistani military and Inter-Services Intelligence directorate is known to secretly provide intelligence to direct the attacks, as well as basing for the unmanned Predators and Reapers. This is all done with the support of the Pakistani government, which publicly denies any involvement in the program.

Opponents of the strikes claim that the vast majority of those killed in the US airstrikes are civilians, while Pakistani nationalists and Islamists political parties have used the attacks to stoke anti-American sentiments in Pakistan. The Taliban have used the strikes to try to justify suicide attacks against civilians, the government, and security forces.

U.S. Predator Drones Strike South Waziristan, 5 Taliban Won't Make It To the Hajj Next Year

Bingo. We've waited a little over 10 days for the latest predator drone strike in Pakistan and it came today in South Waziristan, not the usual North Waziristan. Five Taliban got the raw end of some hellfire missiles.

From the story at The Long War Journal:

Unmanned US Predators struck inside Pakistan's tribal areas for the first time in 11 days. Today's strike killed five "militants" in the tribal agency of South Waziristan.

The Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired two missiles at a compound in the village of Landidog about 12 miles west of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. The compound is owned by "a local tribesman named as Fazal Karam, Dawn reported.

A Pakistani intelligence official told AFP that five "militants" were killed, but did not say if those killed were Taliban, al Qaeda, or members of other allied terror groups. No senior terror commanders have been reported killed. Also, no civilians were reported killed in the strike.

The area is controlled by Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Taliban in the Waziri tribal areas in South Waziristan. Pakistan's military and intelligence services consider Nazir and his followers "good Taliban" as they do not openly seek the overthrow of the Pakistani state.

I guess I'm not supposed to get greedy on these attacks but I marvel at the precision and the deadly accuracy of them - when's the last time you heard of a predator drone miss? I'm sure there is a method to the madness here but I guess if I were at the helm, we'd be firing hellfires into NW Pakistan like no tomorrow.

Hopefully this latest strike nailed some higher ups in the Taliban or al Qaeda ranks.

US Predators kill 5 in strike in South Waziristan


Unmanned US Predators struck inside Pakistan's tribal areas for the first time in 11 days. Today's strike killed five "militants" in the tribal agency of South Waziristan.

The Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired two missiles at a compound in the village of Landidog about 12 miles west of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan. The compound is owned by "a local tribesman named as Fazal Karam, Dawn reported.

A Pakistani intelligence official told AFP that five "militants" were killed, but did not say if those killed were Taliban, al Qaeda, or members of other allied terror groups. No senior terror commanders have been reported killed. Also, no civilians were reported killed in the strike.

The area is controlled by Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Taliban in the Waziri tribal areas in South Waziristan. Pakistan's military and intelligence services consider Nazir and his followers "good Taliban" as they do not openly seek the overthrow of the Pakistani state.

Nazir openly supports Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden, however, and wages jihad in Afghanistan. Significantly, more senior al Qaeda leaders have been killed in Nazir's tribal areas during the US air campaign than in those of any other Taliban leader in Pakistan. Nazir also shelters the Mehsuds from the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, in violation of a peace agreement with the Pakistani government.

In the past, the US has killed several senior al Qaeda leaders in Nazir's territories. One of the most senior al Qaeda leaders killed was Midhat Mursi al Sayyid Umar, who is better known as Abu Khabab al Masri. Abu Khabab was killed along with four members of his staff in a Predator strike on July 28, 2008.

Two other top al Qaeda leaders killed while in Nazir's care are Osama al Kini (Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam), al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan; and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, one of al Kini's senior aides. Both men were wanted by the US for their involvement in the 1998 suicide attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

In another strike in Nazir's territory, US Predators also killed Abu Hazwa Jawfi, who is said to have led Jundallah, a Pakistani terror group that is based in Karachi and maintains with close ties with al Qaeda.

The Predator strikes, by the numbers

Today's strike is the second in South Waziristan this year, and just the third in the tribal agency since Sept. 28, 2010. All but four of the other strikes in Pakistan since Sept. 28, 2010 have occurred in North Waziristan. The other four strikes took place in Khyber.

The last Predator strike in Pakistan took place on Feb. 24, when the CIA killed six "militants" in the al Qaeda and Taliban stronghold of Datta Khel in North Waziristan.

The last strike in South Waziristan, on Feb. 20, broke a 28-day-long pause in Predator attacks. A senior al Qaeda operative named Abu Zaid al Iraqi and several members of the Punjabi Taliban are thought to have been killed in the Feb. 20 airstrike.

Many analysts speculated that the long pause in strikes from Jan. 23 to Feb. 20 was related to the shooting deaths in Lahore on Jan. 27 of two Pakistanis by a US consular official who worked for the CIA. Pakistan has refused to release the American.

But a look at the Predator strike history shows that there have been several long pauses in time between the strikes. The recent 28-day gap was not the longest since the US ramped up the program in August 2008 [see LWJ report, Analysis: Gap in Pakistan Predator strikes not unusual].

February 2011 proved to be the slowest month for Predator strikes in a year, with three, since November 2009. The recent slowdown in attacks has occurred after the pace of the strikes picked up from the beginning of September 2010 until the third week in January 2011. September's record number of 21 strikes was followed by 16 strikes in October, 14 in November, 12 in December, and 9 in January. The previous monthly high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. The suicide bombing at COP Chapman killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The US carried out 117 attacks inside Pakistan in 2010, more than double the number of strikes that occurred in 2009. By late August 2010, the US had exceeded 2009's strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram. In 2008, the US carried out a total of 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

In 2010 the strikes were concentrated almost exclusively in North Waziristan, where the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups are based. All but 13 of the 117 strikes took place North Waziristan. Of the 13 strikes occurring outside of North Waziristan in 2010, seven were executed in South Waziristan, five were in Khyber, and one was in Kurram. That trend is holding true this year, with 11 of 13 strikes in 2011 taking place in North Waziristan.

Since Sept. 1, 2010, the US has conducted 75 strikes in Pakistan's tribal agencies. The bulk of those attacks have aimed at the terror groups in North Waziristan, with 66 strikes in the tribal agency. Many of the strikes have targeted cells run by the Islamic Jihad Group, which have been plotting to conduct Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. A Sept. 8 strike killed an IJU commander known as Qureshi, who specialized in training Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.

The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda's external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda's external operations. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

U.S. Predator Drones Hit North Waziristan Compound and Vehicle, Six Taliban Won't See Spring Arrive

The Datta Khel area of North Waziristan is one of the favorite targets of U.S. predator drones and that played out once again this morning as our drones hit both a Taliban compound and a vehicle and the end result was six dead Taliban jihadis.

From the report at The Long War Journal:

Unmanned US Predators struck yet again in Pakistan's lawless tribal agencies today, again in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. Six "militants" were reported killed in the third strike in five days. The recent strikes mark an end to a pause in the Predator program that sparked much speculation as to the causes.

The latest strike took place in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan. Unmanned US Predators, or the more deadly Reapers, fired several missiles at a compound and a car in the area, according to Dawn and The Associated Press.

At this time, no senior Taliban or al Qaeda fighters have been reported killed in the attack.

Perhaps we will start to see our predator drone strikes get back on schedule now with the majority of the strikes in the past coming on the days of Friday, Saturday and Sunday - I've never been able to figure just why that is but I'm sure the statistics would bear out that at least 70% of all dead Taliban in these strikes are taken on the weekend.

US Predators kill 6 'militants' in North Waziristan strike


Unmanned US Predators struck yet again in Pakistan's lawless tribal agencies today, again in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. Six "militants" were reported killed in the third strike in five days. The recent strikes mark an end to a pause in the Predator program that sparked much speculation as to the causes.

The latest strike took place in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan. Unmanned US Predators, or the more deadly Reapers, fired several missiles at a compound and a car in the area, according to Dawn and The Associated Press.

At this time, no senior Taliban or al Qaeda fighters have been reported killed in the attack.

The target of the strike is also not known, but the Datta Khel area is known to host a plethora of al Qaeda and allied jihadist and Taliban groups.

The Datta Khel area is administered by the Taliban commander for North Waziristan, Hafiz Gul Bahadar. He provides shelter to top al Qaeda leaders as well as terrorists from numerous Pakistani and Central Asian terror groups.

Datta Khel is a known hub of Taliban, Haqqani Network, and al Qaeda activity. While Bahadar administers the region, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and allied Central Asian jihadi groups are also based in the area. The Lashkar al Zil, or al Qaeda's Shadow Army, is known to have a command center in Datta Khel.

Datta Khel serves as a command and control center for al Qaeda's top leaders. Some of al Qaeda's top leaders have been targeted and killed in Datta Khel. A strike on Dec. 17, 2009, targeted Sheikh Saeed al Saudi, Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law and a member of al Qaeda's Shura Majlis, or executive council. Al Saudi is thought to have survived the strike, but Abdullah Said al Libi, the commander of the Shadow Army or Lashkar al Zil, and Zuhaib al Zahibi, a general in the Shadow Army, were both killed in the attack.

But the most significant attack in Datta Khel took place on May 21, 2010; it resulted in the death of Mustafa Abu Yazid, a longtime al Qaeda leader and close confidant of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri.

Yazid served as the leader of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and the wider Khorasan, a region that encompasses portions of Pakistan, Iran, and several Central Asian states. More importantly, Yazid was as al Qaeda's top financier, which put him in charge of the terror group's purse strings. He served on al Qaeda's Shura Majlis, or top decision-making council. Yazid also was closely allied with the Taliban and advocated the program of embedding small al Qaeda teams with Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

Despite the known presence of al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist organizations in North Waziristan, and requests by the US that action be taken against these groups, the Pakistani military has indicated that it has no plans to take on Bahadar or the Haqqani Network, the other major Taliban group based there. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Yet Bahadar, the Haqqanis, and other Taliban groups openly carry out attacks in Afghanistan.


The Predator strikes, by the numbers

Today's strike is the third in five days. A strike on Feb. 20 in South Waziristan was the first in Pakistan since Jan. 23, when the Predators pounded three different targets in North Waziristan. Many analysts speculated that the pause in strikes was related to the shooting deaths of two Pakistanis by a US consular official in Lahore on Jan. 27. Pakistan has refused to release the American.

But a look at the Predator strike history shows that there have been several long pauses in time between the strikes. The most recent gap was not the longest since the US ramped up the program in August 2008 [see LWJ report, Analysis: Gap in Pakistan Predator strikes not unusual].

January 2011 proved to be the slowest month for Predator strikes in a year, with nine, and February is on track to be slower than January. The recent slowdown in attacks has occurred after the pace of the strikes from the beginning of September 2010 until the end of December picked up. September's record number of 21 strikes was followed by 16 strikes in October, 14 in November, and 12 in December. The previous monthly high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. The suicide bombing at COP Chapman killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The US carried out 117 attacks inside Pakistan in 2010, more than double the number of strikes that occurred in 2009. By late August 2010, the US had exceeded 2009's strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram. In 2008, the US carried out a total of 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

In 2010 the strikes were concentrated almost exclusively in North Waziristan, where the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups are based. All but 13 of the 117 strikes took place North Waziristan. Of the 13 strikes occurring outside of North Waziristan, seven were executed in South Waziristan, five were in Khyber, and one was in Kurram. That trend is holding true this year, with all seven strikes in 2011 taking place in North Waziristan.

Since Sept. 1, 2010, the US has conducted 75 strikes in Pakistan's tribal agencies. The bulk of those attacks have aimed at the terror groups in North Waziristan, with 67 strikes in the tribal agency. Many of the strikes have targeted cells run by the Islamic Jihad Group, which have been plotting to conduct Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. A Sept. 8 strike killed an IJU commander known as Qureshi, who specialized in training Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.

The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda's external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda's external operations. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

Second U.S. Predator Drone Strike In Two Days Kills 9 Taliban in South Waziristan

Just yesterday I had blogged that with the first U.S. predator drone strike since January 23rd, that I was hopeful that things were back on track and today, we saw the second strike in two days as this time the drones hit South Waziristan killing 9 Taliban/al Qaeda.

From the report at The Long War Journal:

US Predators struck again in Pakistan's lawless tribal agencies today, this time in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. Nine "militants" were reported killed in the second strike in two days.

The latest strike took place in the town of Spalga (also known as Aspalga) in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan. Unmanned US Predators, or the more deadly Reapers, fired four missiles at a compound in the town, according to Dawn.

Local Pakistani officials claimed that nine "militants," a term used to describe Taliban or al Qaeda fighters, were killed. No senior Taliban or al Qaeda fighters have been reported killed in the attack.

The town of Spalga is located in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, a powerful Taliban group closely allied to al Qaeda and a favorite of Pakistan's military and intelligence services. The Haqqani Network shelters and supports al Qaeda, and launches attacks against Coalition and Afghan forces across the border.

I guess it's one of the aspects of this kind of warfare by the CIA that can make it so effective against the Taliban and al Qaeda - the fact that there can be nearly a month without a single drone strike and then all of a sudden there are two in two days - I wonder how many Taliban or al Qaeda in South Waziristan thought the strike yesterday in North Waziristan might just be a fluke.

So, this begs the question - will there be more strikes today? Tomorrow?

US Predators strike again in Pakistan, kill 9 'militants'


US Predators struck again in Pakistan's lawless tribal agencies today, this time in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan. Nine "militants" were reported killed in the second strike in two days.

The latest strike took place in the town of Spalga (also known as Aspalga) in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan. Unmanned US Predators, or the more deadly Reapers, fired four missiles at a compound in the town, according to Dawn.

Local Pakistani officials claimed that nine "militants," a term used to describe Taliban or al Qaeda fighters, were killed. No senior Taliban or al Qaeda fighters have been reported killed in the attack.

The town of Spalga is located in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, a powerful Taliban group closely allied to al Qaeda and a favorite of Pakistan's military and intelligence services. The Haqqani Network shelters and supports al Qaeda, and launches attacks against Coalition and Afghan forces across the border.

US Predators have struck in Spalga two other times in the past; once on Dec. 14, 2010, and the first time on Dec. 8, 2009.

The Predator strikes, by the numbers

Today's strike is the second in two days. A strike yesterday in South Waziristan was the first in Pakistan since Jan. 23, when the Predators pounded three different targets in North Waziristan. Many analysts speculated that the pause in strikes was related to the shooting deaths of two Pakistanis by a US consular official in Lahore on Jan. 27. Pakistan has refused to release the American.

But a look at the Predator strike history shows that there have been several long pauses in time between the strikes. The most recent gap was not the longest since the US ramped up the program in August 2008 [see LWJ report, Analysis: Gap in Pakistan Predator strikes not unusual].

January 2011 proved to be the slowest month for Predator strikes in a year, with nine, and February is on track to be slower than January. The recent slowdown in attacks has occurred after the pace of the strikes from the beginning of September 2010 until the end of December picked up. September's record number of 21 strikes was followed by 16 strikes in October, 14 in November, and 12 in December. The previous monthly high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. The suicide bombing at COP Chapman killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The US carried out 117 attacks inside Pakistan in 2010, more than double the number of strikes that occurred in 2009. By late August 2010, the US had exceeded 2009's strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram. In 2008, the US carried out a total of 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

In 2010 the strikes were concentrated almost exclusively in North Waziristan, where the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups are based. All but 13 of the 117 strikes took place North Waziristan. Of the 13 strikes occurring outside of North Waziristan, seven were executed in South Waziristan, five were in Khyber, and one was in Kurram. That trend is holding true this year, with all seven strikes in 2011 taking place in North Waziristan.

Since Sept. 1, 2010, the US has conducted 74 strikes in Pakistan's tribal agencies. The bulk of those attacks have aimed at the terror groups in North Waziristan, with 66 strikes in the tribal agency. Many of the strikes have targeted cells run by the Islamic Jihad Group, which have been plotting to conduct Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. A Sept. 8 strike killed an IJU commander known as Qureshi, who specialized in training Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.

The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda's external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda's external operations. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

Finally! U.S. Predator Drone Strike Hits South Waziristan, 5 Taliban Killed

It seems like forever since I've put up a new strike by U.S. predator drones in NW Pakistan and it pretty much has been - the last strike was on January 23rd - but today, a drone launched hellfire missiles at a target in South Waziristan and killed 5 Taliban. Yes....finally.

From the article at The Long War Journal:

Unmanned US strike aircraft killed five "militants" in an attack in Pakistan's contested tribal agency of South Waziristan today. The strike is the first in South Waziristan since last year, and ends a long pause in strikes in Pakistan that began on Jan. 24.

The Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired three missiles at a Taliban compound in the village of Kaza Panga, which is about 10 miles west of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, Pakistani officials told AFP.

No senior al Qaeda or Taliban commanders have been reported killed in the missile attack.

The target of the strike is unclear. The area is controlled by Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Taliban in the Waziri tribal areas in South Waziristan. Pakistan's military and intelligence services consider Nazir and his followers "good Taliban" as they do not openly seek the overthrow of the Pakistani state.

It is a bit odd that the first strike in almost a month would occur in SOUTH Waziristan, as we see the last strike there was actually back in 2010 and the target rich NORTH Waziristan is normally the target area. As I posted last week, according to The Long War Journal, which documents every predator drone strike, the long absence of strikes has not been totally unusual and there has been no word for the lull.

Hopefully, the drone operators are back in full motion and this is just the appetizer for what is to come for the rest of February.

US Predators strike in South Waziristan


Unmanned US strike aircraft killed five "militants" in an attack in Pakistan's contested tribal agency of South Waziristan today. The strike is the first in South Waziristan since last year, and ends a long pause in strikes in Pakistan that began on Jan. 24.

The Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired three missiles at a Taliban compound in the village of Kaza Panga, which is about 10 miles west of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, Pakistani officials told AFP.

No senior al Qaeda or Taliban commanders have been reported killed in the missile attack.

The target of the strike is unclear. The area is controlled by Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Taliban in the Waziri tribal areas in South Waziristan. Pakistan's military and intelligence services consider Nazir and his followers "good Taliban" as they do not openly seek the overthrow of the Pakistani state.

Nazir openly supports Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden, however, and wages jihad in Afghanistan. Significantly, more senior al Qaeda leaders have been killed in Nazir's tribal areas during the US air campaign than in those of any other Taliban leader in Pakistan. Nazir also shelters the Mehsuds from the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, in violation of a peace agreement with the Pakistani government.

In the past, the US has killed several senior al Qaeda leaders in Nazir's territories. One of the most senior al Qaeda leaders killed was Midhat Mursi al Sayyid Umar, who is better known as Abu Khabab al Masri. Abu Khabab was killed along with four members of his staff in a Predator strike on July 28, 2008.

Today's strike is also the first in South Waziristan since Sept. 28, 2010. All but four of the strikes since then have occurred in North Waziristan. The other four strikes took place in Khyber.

The Predator strikes, by the numbers

Today's strike is the first since Jan. 23, when the Predators pounded three different targets in North Waziristan. Many analysts speculated that the pause in strikes was related to the shooting deaths of two Pakistanis by a US consular official in Lahore on Jan. 27. Pakistan has refused to release the American.

But a look at the Predator strike history shows that there were several long pauses in time between the strikes. The most recent gap was not the longest since the US ramped up the program in August 2008 [See LWJ report, Analysis: Gap in Pakistan Predator strikes not unusual].

January 2011 proved to be the slowest month for Predator strikes in a year, with seven, and February is on track to be slower than January. The recent slowdown in attacks has occurred after the pace of the strikes from the beginning of September 2010 until the end of December picked up. September's record number of 21 strikes was followed by 16 strikes in October, 14 in November, and 12 in December. The previous monthly high was 11 strikes in January 2010, after the Taliban and al Qaeda executed a successful suicide attack at Combat Outpost Chapman that targeted CIA personnel who were active in gathering intelligence for the Predator campaign in Pakistan. The suicide bombing at COP Chapman killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The US carried out 117 attacks inside Pakistan in 2010, more than double the number of strikes that occurred in 2009. By late August 2010, the US had exceeded 2009's strike total of 53 with a strike in Kurram. In 2008, the US carried out a total of 36 strikes inside Pakistan. [For up-to-date charts on the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]

In 2010 the strikes were concentrated almost exclusively in North Waziristan, where the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups are based. All but 13 of the 117 strikes took place North Waziristan. Of the 13 strikes occurring outside of North Waziristan, seven were executed in South Waziristan, five were in Khyber, and one was in Kurram. That trend is holding true this year, with all seven strikes in 2011 taking place in North Waziristan.

Since Sept. 1, 2010, the US has conducted 73 strikes in Pakistan's tribal agencies. The bulk of those attacks have aimed at the terror groups in North Waziristan, with 65 strikes in the tribal agency. Many of the strikes have targeted cells run by the Islamic Jihad Group, which have been plotting to conduct Mumbai-styled terror assaults in Europe. A Sept. 8 strike killed an IJU commander known as Qureshi, who specialized in training Germans to conduct attacks in their home country.

The US campaign in northwestern Pakistan has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda's external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states as well as support al Qaeda's external operations. [For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in the US air campaign in Pakistan, see LWJ Special Report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011.]