Drone attacks rise in 2010

The News - PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s tribal areas experienced 33 drone attacks in only four months of the current year compared to 47 reported in entire 2009, official sources told The News.

Though some top militants were killed in the attacks, most of the victims remained innocent civilians. A total of 323 people had been killed in the attacks to date this year.The current month witnessed three missile strikes in Waziristan, killing at least 48 persons. Same number of tribesmen was killed in five such attacks in April while 60 others were slain in eight hits in March.

Six drone attacks in February left 55 people dead, including Mohammad Haqqani, brother of the leader of Haqqani Group of Sirajuddin Haqqani, on February 18. Qari Zafar and Abdul Haq Turkistani, some of the most wanted militants, were also reported killed during the month.

The US Predators attacked the Pakistani territory 11 times in January, killing 132 people who also included some top foriegn militants. Hakimullah Mahsud, the successor of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mahsud, was first reported dead in one of the attacks on January 17. Later, he was said to have escaped the attack that left 20 people dead.

Reports suggested that out of the 60 drone strikes in Pakistan between January 2006 and April 2009, only 10 were targeted, killing 14 wanted al-Qaeda leaders. These attacks killed 687 innocent Pakistani civilians. The success rate of the strikes remained only six per cent.

Last year 481 people were killed in 47 drone attacks. During the first month of the year, 16 people were killed in three attacks while 60 others were slain in two other hits in February. Also, 46 were killed in six attacks in March, 42 in 5 attacks in April, 39 in three attacks in May, 18 in four attacks in June, 83 others killed in four attacks in July, 51 killed in four attacks in August, 32 perish in four attacks in September, 34 killed in three attacks in October, 14 died in three attacks in November while 46 were killed in six attacks in December 2009. 

Among those killed during this period were Baitullah Mahsud, the TTP chief and Tahir Yuldashev, a leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Mahsud was killed in an attack on August 5 while Yuldashev was reportedly slain in an attack on August 27 2009. Most of the attacks were carried out in North Waziristan.

Those killed in the drone attacks in the past include Nek Mohammad Wazir who was killed on June 18, 2004 in a strike near Wana, South Waziristan. Haitham al-Yemeni was killed in a strike near the Afghan border in North Waziristan in 2005.

On November 30, 2005 al-Qaeda number 3 Abu Hamza Rabia was killed in an attack near Miramshah while on January 13, 2006 Dr Ayman al-Zawahri reportedly escaped an attack in Damadola.