(Previous Incident Code: Ob315 )

Drones killed up to four people in an attack on either a house or a vehicle. Most sources said three or four people died. However in January 2014 the Bureau published an internal assessment of drone strikes compiled by the local political authority. It listed three people killed in a strike on a ‘double cab pickup laden with ammunition’.

According to AP, CIA drones destroyed a vehicle in a bazaar, killing three occupants. It was travelling from the Afghan border to Datta Khel. Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur dominates the area but ‘it was not clear if the drone strike had targeted his group.’ The New York Times reported that four men were killed driving through a bazaar. The missiles hit just before midnight – an unusual hour for people to be moving about in the volatile region, the paper’s tribal source added. An intelligence official told the paper only one person was killed. AFP and PTI also reported a vehicle was destroyed.

However Dawn, The News Tribe and Xinhua reported a house was hit. A drone fired two missiles at the building, killing four and injuring one, according to Xinhua. The strike reportedly destroyed the house completely and damaged nearby buildings. Neighbours rushed to the site soon after the attack to start rescue work.

It was the first reported drone attack since UN special rapporteur Ben Emmerson said the strikes violate Pakistani sovereignty because Islamabad does not consent to the attacks. The strike came amid speculation the White House planned to shift control of the drone programme from the CIA to the Pentagon. The day of the strike, General James Cartwright, the former vice-chairman of Obama’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the ‘aggressive campaign of drone strikes could be undermining long-term efforts to battle extremism.’