(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The number of drone strikes carried out in Pakistan by the United States dropped by more than 32 per cent in 2014 as compared with the previous year, according to the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies' (PIPS) Pakistan Security Report 2014. A total of 21 strikes were reported last year, killing an estimated 144 and wounding 29 over a period of six months.
The report states that a number of senior al-Oaeda commanders were killed in these attacks, including Sheikh Imran Ali Siddiqi, Tajal Makki, Dr Sarbaland alias Abu Khalid, Major Adil Abdul Qudoos, Omar Farooq, Abu Rehman al Kuwait and Fayez Awda Al Khalidi.
Other key targets included militants belonging to the Punjabi Taliban, the Haqqani network and foreign militants including Uzbeks and Arabs engaged in militant activities in the country. Nineteen of these attacks took place in North Waziristan, the report states, with strikes in Miramshah, Datta Khel and Shawal dis¬tricts of the tribal belt.
According to the report, the first strike of 2014 in North Waziristan was carried out on July 16, killing 20 suspected militants in a compound in the Zwe Saidgai area of North Waziristan Agency. This was the deadliest strike during 2014. A subsequent drone strike on July 19 in Datta Khel area killed 15 suspected mili¬tants, most of whom were reported to be Punjabi Taliban members.
Meanwhile, six suspected militants, including four Uzbek nationals and two members of the Haqqani network, were killed in a strike in Datta Khel on August 16.
On September 24, 10 suspected militants were killed when four missiles were fired on a hideout in the Lowara Mandi area of Datta Khel. A vehicle carrying arms and ammunition was also targeted in this strike. On September 28, three suspected militants were killed in a strike in Wana, South Waziristan, while four were killed on October 6 in the Shawal area of North Waziristan.
On October 8, two missiles were fired from a drone, targeting a house in Kond Char in North Waziristan, killing four militants and injuring eight others. On the same day, three militants were killed when missiles hit a house in Datta Khel. On October 9, four suspected militants were killed and two wounded in a drone strike in Datta Khel. The next attack was conducted in the northwestern area of Shawal along the Afghan border on October 11 and killed at least four militants including Sheikh Imran Ali Siddiqi, a senior commander of al Qaeda's subcontinent branch.
On October 30, a drone fired two missiles at the house of a local tribesman, Ashraf Wazir near a public school in the village of Nargasi in Azam Warsak, near the Afghan border. Four foreign militants were reportedly among a total of six casualties.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.