A US drone strike killed at least four people in North Waziristan today, leveling a house and wounding several others within. It is the first confirmed US drone strike inside Pakistan in weeks.
None of the slain in this attack were identified, though unnamed “sources” were quoted in the Pakistani media claiming they were affiliated with the Sajna group within the Pakistani Taliban.
Officials didn’t appear particularly interested in the anonymity of the slain in this attack, which of course isn’t so unusual, but rather focused on a report out of al-Qaeda’s India branch saying two of their leaders had been killed in previous strikes.
Slaying anonymous tribesmen has been mostly without consequence for the US drone program, apart from growing anti-US sentiment in the area. One exception was a 2009 strike which killed three civilians, and which has led to murder charges against a former CIA station chief.
Hmmm, Pakistan refuses to join the Saudi's war on Yemen, and US drone strikes in Pakistan resume after a lengthy break. Nothing to see here, folks, move along…