Updated 11/22 7:05 PM EST
In a sign of just how seriously the United States took this week’s formal protest from the Pakistani government over its recent spate of air strikes, US drones have struck again, this time hitting a house in North Waziristan, killing five and injuring at least six others.
The attack consisted of two or three missiles and struck in a small village called Ali Khel. Among those reportedly killed was a dual British/Pakistani citizen named Rashid Rauf, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2006 in connection with the infamous “liquid explosives” plot in Britain. Saudi militant Abu Zubair al-Masri was also apparently among those killed, though local Taliban spokesmen insist only local civilians died in the attack
Pakistan has been complaining at regular intervals about the unilateral US strikes, but with so little success that it has been reported they have a “tacit agreement” over them. Pakistan’s Army Air Defence was working yesterday on improving its ability to shoot down US drones over its territory, but it does not appear from the reports so far that any attempt was made to target this drone.