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Map of the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province. The government signed peace agreements in the red agencies/ districts (the military said Shangla was under Taliban control in October); purple districts are under de facto Taliban control; yellow regions are under Taliban influence. |
The US launched another unmanned Predator aircraft strike in Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled tribal areas, according to reports from the region.
The Predator fired several Hellfire missiles at a Taliban and al Qaeda safe house in North Waziristan. The strike took place in Chashma, a village on the outskirts of Miramshah, the main town in the tribal agency, Reuters reported.
“A missile was fired at a house owned by one Taj Mohammad, and we have reports of two men killed,” a Pakistani intelligence agency official told the news agency.
At least three people have been reported killed, according to the Xinhua news service. The target of the strike is unknown. No senior Taliban or al Qaeda leaders have been reported killed in the attack.
The majority of US strikes inside of Pakistan’s northwest have taken place inside North Waziristan. The al Qaeda-linked Haqqani family and Taliban warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadar operate in North Waziristan. The Haqqani Network has a strong presence in Miramshah region of North Waziristan.
Background on the recent strikes inside Pakistan
Today’s attack is the fifth this month and the first since Nov. 21, when a safe house hosting a meeting in North Waziristan that included al Qaeda operatives Rashid Rauf and Abu Zubair al Masri was hit. Both Rauf and Zubair are thought to have been killed, however this has not been confirmed. Rauf’s family claimed his is still alive. On Nov. 19, the US hit an al Qaeda safe house in Bannu. This was the first recorded US strike outside of Pakistan’s tribal areas.
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Click to view slide show of the Haqqani Network. Pictured is a composite image of Siraj Haqqani. |
The US attacks inside Pakistan have tapered off this month after a high operational tempo in September and October, when strikes into Pakistan averaged between two to three a week. The majority of these attacks have been inside North and South Waziristan.
There have been 32 recorded cross-border attacks and attempts in Pakistan this year, according to numbers compiled by The Long War Journal. Twenty-five of these attacks took place since Aug. 31. There were only 10 strikes during 2006 and 2007 combined.
The strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas have disrupted al Qaeda and the Taliban’s operations, but will not dislodge the groups from power in the region, a senior intelligence official told The Long War Journal.
The US campaign in Pakistan is aimed at disrupting al Qaeda’s ability to attack the West, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal on Sept. 19.
US intelligence believes the next attack launched against the West will originate from Pakistan’s tribal areas, where al Qaeda operates 157 known training camps, intelligence officials told The Long War Journal in August.
The US strikes inside Pakistan’s tribal areas have killed five senior al Qaeda leaders this year. All of the leaders were involved in supporting al Qaeda’s external operations directed at the West.
Abu Laith al Libi, a senior military commander in Afghanistan, was killed in a strike in North Waziristan in January. Abu Sulayman Jazairi, al Qaeda’s external operations chief, was killed in a strike in Bajaur in March. Abu Khabab al Masri, al Qaeda’s WMD chief, and several senior members of his staff were killed in a strike in South Waziristan in July. Khalid Habib, the leader of al Qaeda’s paramilitary forces in the tribal areas, was killed in North Waziristan in October. Abu Jihad al Masri, the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group and member of al Qaeda’s top council, was also killed in North Waziristan this October.
Two other senior al Qaeda leaders are rumored to have been killed, but their deaths have not been confirmed.
Tahir Yuldashev, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, was targeted in a Nov. 7 strike in South Waziristan that wounded Taliban leader Mullah Nazir. Abdullah Azzam al Saudi, an al Qaeda leader involved with external strikes and the recruitment and training of operative, is thought to have been killed in the Nov. 19 strike in Bannu, the first recorded US attack outside of Pakistan’s tribal areas.
US attacks inside Pakistan and incidents along the border in 2008:
• US strike in North Waziristan kills 3
Nov. 29, 2008
• US hits Taliban safe house In North Waziristan
Nov. 21, 2008
• US Predator strikes al Qaeda & Taliban outside of Pakistan’s tribal areas
Nov. 19, 2008
• US targets compound in North Waziristan
Nov. 14, 2008
• US Predators strike al Qaeda camp in North Waziristan
Nov. 7, 2008
• US Predators strike again in Waziristan
Oct. 31, 2008
• US strikes kill al Qaeda operatives in North & South Waziristan
Oct. 31, 2008
• US targets Taliban “facility” in South Waziristan
Oct. 26, 2008
• US hits Haqqani Network in North Waziristan
Oct. 22, 2008
• US strike in Baitullah Mehsud’s territory kills 6
Oct. 16, 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
5 Comments
Is this report about a strike in South Waziristan on Thanksgiving accurate as well? I haven’t heard about it anywhere except the Pakistan Times.
http://www.pakistantimes.net/2008/11/28/newswire4.htm
GOOD WORK TROOPS KEEP KILLING HIRABI’S!!!
The same Chashma where the nuclear facility is at, or a different one?
http://noblesseoblige.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/chashma.jpg
There doesn’t seem to be complete agreement this time that it was actually a missile attack from a UAV. It’s hard to know if they really believe that or if they’re giving cover to the U.S (as reported earlier in many newspapers).
The media is using at least 20 euphemisms to describe Muslim evildoers. Doing so, obstructs an understanding of the violent threats confronting the civilized world.