(Previous Incident Code: Ob297 )

A pre-dawn attack destroyed a house reportedly belonging to Maulvi Abdullah, described as a local cleric or tribesman, killing up to six alleged militants and injuring up to six more, according to local reports.

“Several US drones flew into the area before dawn and fired four missiles on a compound, killing five militants,” an unnamed security official told AFP. A second official confirmed the casualties to the BBC. “The whole house has been damaged in an attack but two rooms of the house have completely collapsed. Six bodies has been recovered from debris,” a local told The Times.

“The death toll may increase as all injured are in a very critical condition,” an official said. Militants had arrived at the compound the previous night, tribesmen told PTI; locals reported seeing five drones flying at low altitude prior to the attack. This was the first strike since a mass rally led by Imran Khan attempted to march into South Waziristan in protest at drone strikes on October 7. Although the march was blocked from entering Waziristan, it garnered significant media attention.

On October 15 a jihadi website announced the death of Moezeddine Garsallaoui, leader of militant group Jund al Khilafah, reporting that he had been killed in a ‘cowardly, treacherous raid’ in North Waziristan that may have been a drone strike.

However, there were few further details with the Long War Journal reporting it was not known when or how he was killed “but it appears he was killed in a drone strike in Miramshah”. Garsallaoui, who is variously reported as being Swiss or Belgian-Tunisian, was the second husband of Belgian-Moroccan Malika El Aroud, convicted of running terrorist websites in 2007. She was reportedly widow of the man who assassinated Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud on September 7 2001, on Osama bin Laden’s orders.

In June 2013 it was revealed the US National Security Agency had intercepted several e-mails sent by Garsallaoui in Pakistan to El Aroud in Belgium in 2008. This information prevented a potential al Qaeda plot targeting Belgium, anonymous intelligence officials said. Jund al Khilafa claimed responsibility for the Toulouse, France shootings in March 2012 that killed a rabbi and three children.

In April 2013, the IMU announced the death of a German man known as ‘Ahmad B‘, who had just completed his explosives training when killed with two others. Die Welt described him as a young German-Moroccan from the town of Setterich born in 1988. Announcing his death, an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan spokesman said ‘Dear brothers and sisters, the King of Setterich is now a martyr,’