Pakistani officials confirmed that a US drone launched at least four missiles at a house and vehicle in the North Waziristan Agency’s Datta Khel town, killing at least six people and wounding an unknown number of others.
The Pakistani officials termed all of the victims “alleged terrorists,” but conceded that they had absolutely no information about the identities of any of those slain in the attack. The US, as usual, has not commented at all on the attack.
The attack was just the latest of several attacks in the first week of the new year, killing a large number of people, none of whom have been identified. Though the government terms everyone killed a “suspect” at the time, studies have shown that the majority of them turn out to be innocent civilians.
The massive civilian toll of the strikes has sparked growing anti-US sentiments across Pakistan, and officials have gone out of their way to keep the full extent of the death toll out of the international media. Such attacks have escalated dramatically since President Obama took office, and the rate has progressively increased since that time.