(Previous Incident Code: Ob280 )

Initial reports declared up to four alleged militants were killed in an early morning CIA drone strike in Miranshah bazaar. An official told Express Tribune four Punjabis were killed when two missiles were reportedly fired on a building, hitting an upper floor. The official added: ‘The building, which comprised of two rooms, was razed to the ground as a result of the attack.’ And a local tribesman said six nearby shops were partially damaged when he went to look at the scene. For the third time in recent weeks there were claims that the CIA had used a ‘follow-up strike’ tactic first exposed by the Bureau in February 2012. As many as five drones reportedly remained over the area following the strike, indicating the possible presence of a High Value Target.

However a second Bureau field investigation into follow-up strikes showed this was not the case. The report, published in August 2013, found no evidence of a follow-up attack and revealed only one person died: a senior Arab commander, commonly known as the Sheikh. The Bureau’s field researcher said:

Despite claims by others of multiple deaths and a destroyed building, I am adamant of my findings. I went back to my sources among the Taliban, tribesmen and security officials. All are unanimous that only one person, believed to be an Arab national, was killed in the attack. The building remains intact.

The Sheikh was killed while sleeping on the roof of a building he and his men had rented from a local tribal elder. The elder told the Bureau: ‘It was one of the strangest attacks so far carried out by drones here. The entire building remained safe and it didn’t even cause damage to the rooftop where he was sleeping.’ Militants told the Bureau body parts of the slain man were later recovered from adjoining buildings.