Pakistani warplanes have launched a major flurry of air strikes against targets in Data Khel, in North Waziristan Agency, with officials putting the overall death toll in the strikes at 150, labeling them all “foreign terrorists.”
The strikes destroyed between six and eight houses in the area, beginning overnight and continuing into the morning. Officials say ethnic Uzbeks were the primary target.
The Uzbeks are being targeted based on reports in the wake of the recent Karachi airport attack, in which the Pakistani Taliban claimed to be coordinating with the “Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.”
Massive, non-specific death tolls are very common for Pakistani military operations against the nation’s tribal areas, and while they are almost always followed in the days to come with reports of civilian deaths, the military generally sticks to its initial story, identifying all the victims as “terrorists.”
Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
- Pakistan PM Tells US: We're Not Your 'Hired Gun' Anymore - December 7th, 2018
- US Backs Kosovo's Plan to Create a New Army - December 7th, 2018
- Gen. Dunford: US Must Stay in Afghanistan or Get Another 9/11 - December 7th, 2018
- US, Britain Say Recent Syria Chemical Attack 'Fabricated' - December 7th, 2018
- US-Led Coalition Airstrikes Kill Nine Civilians in Eastern Syria - December 7th, 2018
As Mr. Ditz points out in the last paragraph, it does seem rather incredible that according to government sources, be they US, Pakistani, or other, air and drone strikes almost always kill only suspected militants, with never a single civilian involved. Must be those "smart" weapons…