US Drone Strike Kills Three in North Waziristan

Missiles Targeted Vehicle in Mir Ali District

US drones launched four missiles against a vehicle in the Mir Ali District of Pakistan’s North Waziristan Agency, destroying it and killing all three people inside. The identities of the slain are all unknown, but they have been termed “suspects.”

It is the first strike since last week, when the Obama Administration reported that it believes it has “tacit consent” for attacks against Pakistani territory because Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency never returned a fax telling them about the plan to continue with attacks.

Pakistan’s government has come under repeated criticism domestically for its feckless reaction toward the drone strikes. Though they have publicly insisted they oppose the strikes, they don’t seem to be following through on the issue, and keep issuing half-hearted criticisms.

US drone strikes have killed thousands of people in Pakistan’s tribal areas since President Obama took office. Only a few dozen were even identified, and even among them several of the confirmed slain eventually turned up alive and well.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.