Pakistani officials: US missiles kill 54 in NW (possible expansion of drone strikes inside Pakistan)

[Turborama]

Source: AP Via Boston Globe

By Riaz Khan
Associated Press / December 17, 2010

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—Three American missile attacks killed 54 alleged militants Friday close to the Afghan border, an unusually high number of victims that included commanders of a Taliban-allied group that were holding a meeting, Pakistani officials said.

The attacks took place in the Khyber tribal region, which has been rarely struck by American missiles before over the last three years. That could indicate a possible expansion of the CIA-led covert campaign of drone strikes inside Pakistani territory.

The first strike targeted two vehicles in the Sandana area of the Tirah Valley, killing seven militants and wounding another nine. The men were believed to belong to the Pakistani Taliban, one of the country's largest and deadliest insurgent groups.

Later, missiles hit a compound in Speen Darang village where the Lashkar-e-Islam, a Taliban affiliate known to be strong in Khyber, were meeting, killing 32 people, among them commanders. The third strike took place in Narai Baba village and killed 15 militants, the officials sai

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2010/12/17/pakistani_officials_us_missiles_kill_5_in_nw/

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BBC ticker which was posted earlier: BREAKING NEWS: Drone attacks near the Afghan border have killed at least 50 people, Pakistani officials say
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

[bemildred]

1. Pakistani officials: US missiles kill 54 in NW

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Three American missile attacks killed 54 alleged militants Friday close to the Afghan border, an unusually high number of victims that included commanders of a Taliban-allied group that were holding a meeting, Pakistani officials said.

The attacks took place in the Khyber tribal region, which has been rarely struck by American missiles before over the last three years. That could indicate a possible expansion of the CIA-led covert campaign of drone strikes inside Pakistani territory.

The first strike targeted two vehicles in the Sandana area of the Tirah Valley, killing seven militants and wounding another nine. The men were believed to belong to the Pakistani Taliban, one of the country's largest and deadliest insurgent groups.

Later, missiles hit a compound in Speen Darang village where the Lashkar-e-Islam, a Taliban affiliate known to be strong in Khyber, were meeting, killing 32 people, among them commanders. The third strike took place in Narai Baba village and killed 15 militants, the officials said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7344092.html

[Turborama]

2. Thanks

I just found the AP one and have added it before the BBC have updated theirs. Still waiting for it.

[bemildred]

3. It's interesting in conjunction with the CIA station chief being recalled.

New boss making his mark or something.

[Robb]

4. Maybe.

Although I doubt the Islamabad station chief is the targeteer.

[bemildred]

14. Tsk, now you've done it. nt

[Turborama]

5. BBC: Scores die as drones renew attack on Pakistan's Khyber

Nearly 60 people have been killed in a series of attacks by US drones in the past 24 hours in Pakistan's Khyber tribal district, officials say.

At least 50 died in three unmanned air strikes, a day after seven others were killed in the same area.


=snip=

US drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal region have increased under the presidency of Barack Obama, often occurring several times every week.

But the US now appears to be expanding its campaign to other parts of the tribal belt, as most of these attacks have been in the Waziristan region, says the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Karachi.

Drone attacks in Khyber are rare.

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12015959

[IScreamSundays]

6. Scores die as drones renew attack on Pakistan's Khyber

Source: BBC

Nearly 60 people have been killed in a series of attacks by US drones in the past 24 hours in Pakistan's Khyber tribal district, officials say.

At least 50 died in three unmanned air strikes in the Tirah Valley, a day after seven others were killed nearby.

Security officials say all the dead in the attacks are militants - a claim that cannot be independently confirmed.

Meanwhile, the CIA has withdrawn its top spy from Pakistan, amid threats to his life, US intelligence confirms.

The Islamabad station chief had been identified in a lawsuit linking him to drone strikes, and media coverage of the legal action led to his name appearing on placards during anti-US protests in the Pakistani capital.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12015959

[DeSwiss]

7. With these goddamned drones.....

...no one is safe.

- No. One.

K&R

[Prometheus Bound]

8. CIA Drone Strikes: What the Experts Say

CIA Drone Strikes: What the Experts Say
What is behind the surge in CIA drone strikes in Pakistan over the last two years? Channel 4 News asked a panel US defence analysts and commentators for their views.

The last two years have seen a significant increase in the use of unmanned warplanes, or drones, in Pakistan.

The New America Foundation website estimates this has resulted in between 952 and 1,591 deaths (as of 16 December 2010).

......

Where are the CIA drones over Pakistan controlled from? And who controls them?

Peter W Singer

You have people outside the military chain of command, making decisions about the use of force in a way that would have previously been done inside the military.

The concern here is, not only are the legal questions thus more thorny (a military officer is accountable to military law; by comparison, civilian law is not well set up for civilians engaged in war), but also an experience and skillset mismatch.

The head of the CIA is a political appointee, a former congressman from California, not an air force general who has spent his career planning for air war.
http://www.channel4.com/news/cia-pakistan-drone-strikes-what-the-experts-say

[glinda]

12. And it is all secret.

[Prometheus Bound]

15. Yes indeed. That's the most sinister part of these attacks.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

9. So.............. ALL of them were militants.

I don't know whether to curse, cry or just scream when they make this statement time after time.

Too pissed off to comment further at this moment. I will say though, that this is a cowardly and inane way to wage war in a country that we're not even at war with.

:grr:

[defendandprotect]

13. +1000% ....

[Roy Rolling]

10. Cowards

Drones are used by cowards who wage war from the comfort of a vidceo game console thousands of miles away from real danger. These military people are cowards and are prolonging war instead of winning it. The evidence? Where is Osama Bin Laden? Eisenhower would have found him, these morons waging war from video consoles are government employees not brave soldiers.

[IamK]

11. One strike every 1.8 days......

According to a tally kept by the Long War Journal, 58 of those strikes have come since September: There has been a drone attack every 1.8 days since Labor Day. LWJ’s Bill Roggio says the pace of attacks between September and November (there was a brief December respite, now erased) is “unprecedented since the U.S. began the air campaign in Pakistan in 2004.” (By contrast, in 2008, there were just 34 strikes.)

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/unprecedented-drone-strikes-hit-pakistan-in-late-2010/