Two US Drone Strikes Kill Five in North Waziristan

Strikes Hit Two Villages, Killing Unidentified Suspects

A pair of US drone strikes against two villages in North Waziristan Agency left at least five people dead, all of them dubbed “Taliban” by Pakistani security officials.

None of the slain were identified, and the strikes leveled at least three homes in the two villages, both near Miramshah, the agency capital. Pakistan is conducting a military offensive against North Waziristan Agency at the same time.

Which may explain why, while the Sharif government has normally been critical of drone strikes, they’ve been conspicuously silent today, and instead of labeling them “suspects,” the local officials termed everyone hit in the attack “Taliban.”

Launching drone strikes in the same area as ongoing military operations seems potentially risky, fueling Pakistanis’ belief that the military offensive is entirely a US scheme.

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.