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(Previous Incident Code: Ob270 )
The CIA carried out its third drone strike during sensitive negotiations with Pakistan. Missiles hit an alleged militant training camp in the forested Shawal area, killing up to ten people. CNN reported the dead as members of the Pakistan Taliban according to Muhammad Amin, a senior government official in the region. The Frontier Post reported locals were afraid to assist in rescue work as up to four drones remained in the area after the attack. The Pakistan Observer identified those killed as ‘local tribesmen’. Pakistan’s government once again condemned the strike in strong terms, calling the attack ‘illegal’ and stating:
It is our considered view that the strategic disadvantages of such attacks far outweigh their tactical advantages, and are therefore, totally counter productive.
The attack came just days after chief US counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan said that the US would seek to respect other nations’ sovereignty in its drone strikes. Leon Panetta, US defence secretary, also confirmed ‘the United States is going to defend itself under any circumstances.’
In February 2013 it emerged an alleged senior al Qaeda militant Abd el Kader Mahmoud Mohamed el Sayed and his son Saleh were killed in a drone strike in Spring 2012. It is not clear where or when they died. El Sayed was reportedly a ‘longtime senior jihadist leader and military commander’ who had led a militant cell in Milan, Italy.