The US has struck inside the North Waziristan tribal agency for the second time in three days. “Two missiles struck a compound just outside Miramshah but we do not have the number of casualties at the moment,” an anonymous Pakistan security official told Geo TV.
Four people were reported killed in the strike. It is unclear if any senior al Qaeda or Taliban senior leaders were among those killed.
The last US airstrike in North Waziristan targeted a meeting of senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, AFP reported. “There was a meeting of around 30 foreign Al-Qaeda and local Taliban commanders in the house of Hafiz Sahar Gul but the majority of them left the building ten minutes before the missile struck,” a security official told AFP. Six low-level al Qaeda operatives and three others were killed in the Oct. 9 airstrike.
Background on strikes in Pakistan and the targeting of the Haqqani Network
The US has been heavily targeting the Haqqani Network in North Waziristan since attacks were stepped up at the end of August. Ten of the 15 strikes conducted in Pakistan’s tribal areas since Aug. 31 have hit Haqqani assets in North Waziristan. A US strike hit the Haqqani’s main mosque in Miramshah on Sept. 9, sparking a series of attacks against Pakistani forces in North Waziristan.
The powerful Haqqani family controls the Miramshah region in North Waziristan. The Haqqanis run a parallel government in North Waziristan and conduct military and suicide operations in eastern Afghanistan. Jalaluddin and Siraj Haqqani have close ties to Osama bin Laden. Siraj is one of the most wanted terrorist commanders in Afghanistan for his involvement in a string of deadly attacks and for recruiting and training foreign terrorists for suicide attacks.
The US stepped up attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas this year after the Taliban and al Qaeda consolidated control in the tribal regions and settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province. There have been 23 recorded cross-border attacks and attempts in Pakistan in 2008, compared to 10 strikes during 2006 and 2007 combined.
These attacks are designed to interdict al Qaeda’s ability to conduct attacks against the West as well as degrade the Taliban’s support network being used against NATO forces in Afghanistan. Three senior al Qaeda leaders have been killed in the attacks.
The Taliban, al Qaeda, and allied terrorist groups have established 157 training camps and more than 400 support locations in the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province, US intelligence officials have told The Long War Journal.
US attacks inside Pakistan and incidents along the border in 2008:
• US targets safe house in North Waziristan
Oct. 11, 2008
• US strike kills 9 al Qaeda and Taliban in North Waziristan
Oct. 9, 2008
• US conducts two strikes in North Waziristan
Oct. 3, 2008
• Taliban: Baitullah Mehsud alive; US strike in North Waziristan
Oct. 1, 2008
• Pakistan military fires on ISAF forces
Sept. 25, 2008
• Pakistani military fires on US helicopters at border
Sept. 22, 2008
• US strikes Taliban camp in South Waziristan
Sept. 17, 2008
• Report: US helicopters fired on while crossing Pakistani border
Sept. 15, 2008
• US hits compound in North Waziristan,
Sept. 12, 2008
• US targets Haqqani Network in North Waziristan,
Sept. 8, 2008
• US airstrike killed five al Qaeda operatives in North Waziristan,
Sept. 5, 2008
• Report: US airstrike kills four in North Waziristan,
Sept. 4, 2008
• Pakistanis claim US helicopter-borne forces assaulted village in South Waziristan,
Sept. 3, 2008
• US hits al Qaeda safe house in North Waziristan,
Aug. 31, 2008
• Five killed in al Qaeda safe house strike in South Waziristan,
Aug. 31, 2008
• Al Qaeda safe house targeted in South Waziristan strike,
Aug. 20, 2008
• Cross-border strike targets one of the Taliban’s 157 training camps in Pakistan’s northwest,
Aug. 13, 2008
• Six killed in strike in South Waziristan,
July 28, 2008
• Report: Strike targets Baitullah Mehsud’s hideout in Pakistan,
June 14, 2008
• Senior Algerian al Qaeda operative killed in May 14 strike inside Pakistan,
May 24, 2008
• Missile strike kills 20 in South Waziristan,
March 16, 2008
• Unprecedented Coalition strike nails the Haqqani Network in North Waziristan,
March 13, 2008
• Missile strike on al Qaeda meeting in South Waziristan kills 13,
Feb. 28, 2008
• Senior al Qaeda leader Abu Laith al Libi killed in North Waziristan,
Jan. 31, 2008
9 Comments
i hope we got a HVT cause it seems when we do these strikes we eliminate footsoliders
Or we get a HVT that most of us haven’t heard of before.
Good point Kanekaizer
Any dead hirabi is a good hirabi. Of course it’s always better to get a HVT. From their past experiences though the HVT’s always run and leave the footsoldiers to fight to the death and die. Bin Laden has been doing this for years. Most people don’t know about how he ran from the Soviets in Jaji in 1987. Kind of like how he ran from us in Tora Bora in 2001. Eventually his luck like his stamina is going to run out. GOOD WORK TROOPS KEEP KILLING HIRABI’S!!!
More problems for the Taliban in Pakistan today.
ISAF: ISAF, Pakistan coordinate strikes on insurgents
Is it just me or has the media gone silent on Afghanistan for a while? It seems the daily drumbeat of the “resurgent Taliban” stories seems to have gone away. Wonder what’s up.
If this is true, it’s just more evidence of why American/NATO forces should not hestitate to strike inside of Pakistan.
Sunday Times: Taliban leader killed by SAS was Pakistan officer
MARLIN’S post makes you wonder who REALLY holds power in P-stan. I have felt for years the P-stani’s, and Musharraff were playing both sides of the fence. Especially the ISI. This is the reason I have mentioned a big strike, with manned aircraft, on the camps and compounds the P-stani’s don’t touch. Thier gov. is comprised of liars and 2 faced dogs. When Kiyani met Adm. Mullen on that carrier, I hope Mullen stressed to him time HAS run out, and you make sure you stay outta the way. This is why the insurgency thrives–they have it better in P-stan than they EVER did in A-stan. Kudos to the Regiment, they are true pro’s.
“Wonder what’s up.” – It would raise the profile of foreign policy and terrorism. Fairly easy to see this is not in most of the US media’s interest for the next 3 weeks.