Eight Germans Reported Killed in US Drone Strike

Attack on North Waziristan Tied to 'Plot' According to Officials

Eight German citizens were reported killed today in a US drone strike against the North Waziristan Agency, in an attack officials tried to link to a plot which led the US State Department yesterday to warn against travel to Europe.

The eight were killed when a US drone fired a pair of missiles against a mosque in the town of Mir Ali. Pakistani officials initially reported that some Pakistanis may have been killed in the attack as well, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency has warned that a number of European citizens have been flocking to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in recent months to seek terrorist training. The groups are keen to recruit people with citizenship in EU nations, as it will allow them to travel freely within the EU.

Reports have claimed that non-specific information had emerged about a Mumbai-style terror plot potentially being planned somewhere and involving a possible attack either in Europe or North America, though US officials have since downplayed the possibility of an attack in the US, British officials have downplayed the attack being against Britain, and German officials downplayed the possibility of the attack being in Germany. Pakistan has downplayed the plot entirely, but it is being used as a justification for massive escalations of the drone strikes against Pakistan.

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.