MIRAMSHAH ( Pak Tribune) Fifteen people, including militants affiliated with Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur group and villagers, were killed and a few others sustained injuries in two US drone attacks in the Dattakhel area of the North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Wednesday.
A senior government official based in Miramshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, told our sources that five US spy planes were seen flying over Dattakhel since Wednesday afternoon. Pleading anonymity, he said the drones struck twice within an hour, destroying four houses in the Sanzalay area in Dattakhel Tehsil. The houses, he claimed, were in the use of the local Taliban militants.
Located about 50 kilometres west of Miramshah and close to Urgun town of Afghanistan’s Paktika province, this mountainous area is considered a stronghold of the tribal militants and hometown of Hafiz Gul Bahadur.
According to the official, the drones fired four missiles at the suspected militant hideouts, razing them to the ground. He said besides militants, villagers also suffered losses in the attacks. “One of the houses was located close to the main square in the village. That is why houses of local tribesmen were damaged,” said the official, adding that there were no details about the identity of the victims.
The Taliban operating in North Waziristan also confirmed two missile attacks on the village. They said the militants and villagers were busy in the rescue work when the drones fired two more missiles and hit two other houses located very close to the previous target.
A senior commander of Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants, who is generally known as Hafiz, told our sources that 15 bodies of their colleagues and villagers had been recovered from the rubble of the buildings. He said that they had stopped the rescue work as the drones were hovering over the area.
“Five drones were flying over the town, making it difficult for us to recover the dead and injured from the rubble,” said commander Hafiz. He said two double-cabin pickup trucks and two cars parked in the houses had also been damaged. The militant commander feared the death toll could rise as some of the injured admitted to private hospitals were in serious condition. ُPak Tribune
A senior government official based in Miramshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, told our sources that five US spy planes were seen flying over Dattakhel since Wednesday afternoon. Pleading anonymity, he said the drones struck twice within an hour, destroying four houses in the Sanzalay area in Dattakhel Tehsil. The houses, he claimed, were in the use of the local Taliban militants.
Located about 50 kilometres west of Miramshah and close to Urgun town of Afghanistan’s Paktika province, this mountainous area is considered a stronghold of the tribal militants and hometown of Hafiz Gul Bahadur.
According to the official, the drones fired four missiles at the suspected militant hideouts, razing them to the ground. He said besides militants, villagers also suffered losses in the attacks. “One of the houses was located close to the main square in the village. That is why houses of local tribesmen were damaged,” said the official, adding that there were no details about the identity of the victims.
The Taliban operating in North Waziristan also confirmed two missile attacks on the village. They said the militants and villagers were busy in the rescue work when the drones fired two more missiles and hit two other houses located very close to the previous target.
A senior commander of Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants, who is generally known as Hafiz, told our sources that 15 bodies of their colleagues and villagers had been recovered from the rubble of the buildings. He said that they had stopped the rescue work as the drones were hovering over the area.
“Five drones were flying over the town, making it difficult for us to recover the dead and injured from the rubble,” said commander Hafiz. He said two double-cabin pickup trucks and two cars parked in the houses had also been damaged. The militant commander feared the death toll could rise as some of the injured admitted to private hospitals were in serious condition. ُPak Tribune
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