Peshawar, Pakistan: A US drone strike killed at least seven militants in Pakistan’s restive tribal belt on Thursday, including an important commander of the feared Haqqani network, security officials said.
The attack happened early Thursday in Nargas village of Birmil area, some 30 kilometres west of Wana, the main town of South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border which is considered a stronghold of Taliban militants.
Officials and a militant source said four foreigners and an important commander from the Haqqani network, which is blamed for numerous bloody attacks in Afghanistan, were among those killed.
“At least seven militants were killed in the drone strike,” an intelligence official based in Wana told AFP, adding that the dead included four foreigners and a top Haqqani commander.
“Abdullah Haqqani [the commander] was responsible for sending suicide bombers to Afghanistan,” the official said.
Another official in the neighbouring garrison town of Bannu confirmed the death toll and killing of the commander.
A source in a militant group said that a vehicle loaded with arms and ammunition was also destroyed in the attack.
South Waziristan is one of the seven lawless tribal districts of Pakistan that border Afghanistan.
These semi-autonomous areas have for years been a hideout for Islamist militants of all stripes — including Al Qaida and the homegrown Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as well as foreign fighters such as Uzbeks and Uighurs.
Washington pressed Islamabad for years to wipe out the sanctuaries in the North Waziristan tribal area, which militants have used to launch attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military launched a major offensive in North Waziristan in June and say they have killed more than 1,100 militants so far, with 100 soldiers losing their lives in the operation.
The area is off-limits to journalists, making it impossible to independently verify the number and identity of the dead.
National disaster officials say the fighting has forced more than 18,000 people to abandon their homes.
Residents of the area say many people are caught between the two opposing forces, as the military orders them to leave and the militants urge them to stay.
“Security forces were asking us to leave their area as there would be heavy bombing against the militants,” said one villager, Muddasir Shah.
But the militants had set up bunkers and were patrolling villages to prevent residents from leaving, he added. “The militants were saying we shouldn’t flee the villages. We don’t know whom we should trust.” The military said it had killed dozens of militants in air strikes and fighting since the fighting began in Khyber.
“The militants wanted people not to leave their houses so that the military don’t use fighter jets and artillery against them,” said Khair Zaman, 47, who had spent nine hours wandering on unfrequented back roads moving his family to safety.
On Sunday, the military said it had killed 18 militants in air strikes.
The Khyber offensive began two weeks ago in the area around the Tirah Valley, a key smuggling route into neighbouring Afghanistan. At the same time, the military is pressing on with a campaign against the Taliban it launched in nearby North Waziristan in June.
Pakistan has been convulsed by Islamist violence since it threw its support behind the US-led campaign against militancy launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The army assault was launched after a dramatic attack by militants on Karachi airport, which killed dozens of people and marked the end of faltering peace talks between the government and the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan routinely protests against US drone strikes, which have been targeting militants in the tribal areas since 2004, saying they violate its sovereignty and are counterproductive in the fight against terror.
But most analysts believe the resumption of the drone programme after it was suspended at the start of the year — reportedly to give Pakistan space for negotiations with the Taliban — is evidence of collusion between the two countries.
The Islamabad government and military officials strongly deny this.
