Sunday, March 13, 2011

U.S. Predators Strike Again In Pakistan's Tribal Areas

From The Long War Journal:

Mar 13, 2011 (13 hours ago)US Predators strike again in Pakistan's tribal areasfrom The Long War Journal Unmanned US strike aircraft conducted their second attack today, this time in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.




The CIA operated Predators or the more heavily armed Reapers fired a barrage of six missiles at a compound run by a Taliban commander and a vehicle in the village of Spagla in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan, killing six "militants" and wounding five more, AFP reported.



"US drones fired six missiles targeting a militant vehicle and a nearby rebel compound owned by a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] leader, Rahimullah, killing six militants," a senior Pakistani security official told the news agency.



Spalga is a known hub of Taliban and al Qaeda activity. US Predators have struck targets in the village three other times since December 2009, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The last strike in the village took place on Feb. 21, 2011, when nine "militants" were killed in an attack on a compound.



The village of Spalga is located in the sphere of influence of the Haqqani Network, a powerful Taliban group that is a favorite of Pakistan's military and intelligence services and is closely allied to al Qaeda. The Haqqani Network shelters and supports al Qaeda, and launches attacks against Coalition and Afghan forces across the border.



Sirajuddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani Network, is a member of al Qaeda's Shura Majlis as well as the Taliban's Quetta Shura. The US government has placed a $5 million bounty out for Siraj and has placed him on the list of specially designated global terrorists.

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