(Previous Incident Code: Ob300 )

Up to four people were killed in the first drone strike in Pakistan for 36 days, local media reported. Reports said one or more CIA drones fired on a vehicle or house in the Shin Warsak area near Wana, capital of South Waziristan.

Sheikh Abdul Bari, described as a Yemen-born al Qaeda-linked militant, was among the dead. The drone missed its target with its first attempt but hit with its second and third, according to local sources.

The lengthy pause between strikes was not because of a lack of targets, according to a US intelligence official. He told the Long War Journal, “Pakistan is a target-rich environment…We’re only scratching at the surface, hitting them in the tribal areas, while the country remains infested with al Qaeda and their allies.”

There was initially some confusion over the number and identity of casualties with one report saying no one was killed or injured in the strike. A security official said, “Two or three militants were walking in a cultivated field. A US drone fired two missiles but no one was hurt.” Other reports said up to four were killed. Some alleged foreign militants were killed in the strike.

The attack came a few hours after a suicide bomber injured South Waziristan Taliban commander Mullah Maulvi Nazir and killed seven others. The Pakistan Taliban (TTP) and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) are reportedly leading suspects for that blast.