A militant commander and several intelligence sources reported the raid on Thursday but the attack took place on Wednesday. Abdullah Wazirstani, a spokesperson for the North Waziristan Taliban, which is linked with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), said the strike killed 3 civilians and seven fighters. A local tribal leader said that he saw two missiles strike a home in the mountains. The home caught fire and he drove away as fast as he could. While US officials have not yet responded to questions about the attack, Kamran Afridi a political agent in North Waziristan denied the location of the attack saying it was not within Pakistani borders. The strike may have been carried out by the CIA as the Pentagon usually confirms its strikes.
Since the Pakistani launched a military offensive against the TTP in the area many of the group have crossed the border into Afghanistan. There were only two drone strikes into Pakistan during 2016. With Trump in power, there have already been two this year. One of those said to be killed in the Wednesday raid was Abdur Rahman said to be a commander of the TTP. North and South Waziristan have always been difficult for the Paklstani government to control and in spite of the military offensive remain areas of militant activity. Perhaps the Trump administration will step up attacks in the region even though the drone strikes are resented by many Pakistanis and the government condemned them. Many suspect that the government tacitly approves of the strikes including Pakistani intelligence officials.
Altogether there have been 425 drone strikes against Pakistan. 375 were carried out during the Obama administration, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The Bureau claims the number killed are between 2,501 to 4,003. Of those, 424-966 were civilians. The Trump administration has been ramping up its drone attacks in Yemen. Perhaps they will do the same in Pakistan although they hardly seem that necessary and may damage relations between Pakistan and the US.
