(Previous Incident Code: Ob350 )

At least four and as many as seven people died in the ninth drone strike of the month and the fourth in South Waziristan. Four missiles from CIA drones reportedly hit a building around 15 miles (24km) from Wana, the area’s capital.

Abdullah Haqqani, a senior member of the Haqqani Network, was reportedly killed. He “was responsible for sending suicide bombers to Afghanistan,” according to an official.

Four more of the dead were named though their affiliation was not clear. The Pakistan Tribune identified four as: Adil, a Yemeni; Abu Dawooduddin, from Sudan; and Umar and Amadi, from Saudi Arabia. However the paper said the four were senior commanders in the Haqqani Network which seems unusual as the Haqqani Network is built around a core of ethnic Pashtuns from the Zadran tribe. It is conceivable that the Haqqani Network was hosting the dead Arabs.

The Haqqani Network is a notoriously effective fighting force in the Afghan insurgency and it is alleged the Pakistani state supports the network to further Pakistan’s strategic ambitions. The US appears to have targeted the group in an area of Pakistan’s tribal area that has largely been spared attack from the Pakistan military. The army is continuing its advance into North Waziristan however most of South Waziristan has been spared from the fighting.

The targeted house reportedly belonged to a local tribesman, Ashraf Mehsud, and was occupied by Arab militants affiliated with al Qaeda. Mehsud was not in the house at the time of the strike. A militant source said the strike also hit a vehicle loaded with arms and ammunition.