(Previous Incident Code: Ob285 )

The CIA’s drones returned to the attack in a Sunday strike on the village of Khushhali Turikhel in North Waziristan. Between four and seven people died, with six missiles fired at a house, according to AFP. One or two vehicles were also reported destroyed. However another source reported that ‘Uzbek militants’ were killed ‘visiting a spring for leisure‘. A large number of drones were said to have taken part, with SANA reporting that ‘six drones continued their flights in the area which created panic in the local residents.’

It was later reported that all of those killed were not Uzbeks but local people from Janikhel in Bannu, where they were buried, raising the possibility of civilian casualties. The News named three of the four killed as Ahmadullah, Asadullah and Hidayat Khan. Its reporters told the Bureau that they were unsure of the status of the deceased. NBC News reported five had died but also reported the identities of the dead were unknown.

The attack took place hours after Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman, again called for the US to halt drone strikes, saying that ‘We will seek an end to drone strikes and there will be no compromise on that… I am not saying drones have not assisted in the war against terror, but they have diminishing rate of returns’.

August 2012