(Previous Incident Code: Ob308 )

The CIA continued its New Year offensive with the third strike in five days – possibly the bloodiest attack in 88 days. Between 8 and 18 people were reported killed when up to five US drones fired multiple missiles in a pre-dawn strike.

The unmanned aircraft battered the Babar Ghar area of South Waziristan according to several reports. The target was reportedly an alleged militant training camp run by Hakimullah Mehsud, leader of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). One of the commanders present was reportedly a cousin of the TTP leader. Pakistani intelligence officials told Associated Press he was Wali Muhammad Mahsud (aka Toofan); Dawn reported he died in the attack. They alleged he trained TTP suicide bombers.

Others killed were described as ‘Punjabi Taliban’. Two or three locations were reportedly targeted in the strike – the buildings were said to have caught fire leaving bodies burnt beyond recognition. NBC News cautioned the death toll could rise as ‘dozens’ of alleged militants were present. Civilians who rushed to the site to search for survivors reported several drones remaining over the area.

This was the second drone strike in three days that reportedly targeted TTP militants. These strikes followed the January 2nd killing of powerful militant leader Maulvi Nazir. His group had been labelled ‘good Taliban’ as they focused their operations on Nato and Afghan targets in Afghanistan. The TTP – so-called ‘bad Taliban’ – reportedly focus attacks on the Pakistani government and military. Associated Press reported this latest strike “may be less likely to anger the Pakistani military and public… because it targeted militants believed to have been going after targets in Pakistan and not in neighbouring Afghanistan.” Cricketer turned presidential-hopeful Imran Khan condemned the strike. He said the government had turned Pakistan into a banana republic and called on Islamabad to “take the nation into confidence about the details and identify those killed in drone attack[s]”.

The TTP attacked a Pakistani Army outpost on February 2nd. A Taliban spokesman said the attack was in retaliation for the drone strikes that killed Wali Muhammad Mahsud and Faisal Khan. He added that the Pakistani state was supporting the US drone strikes. Up to 35 people died: 13 soldiers, 12 militants and at least 10 civilians, including three children. The TTP contested the death toll, saying only four suicide bombers took part in the attack although an ensuing fire-fight reportedly lasted for up to four hours. The circumstances of the civilian deaths were unclear. Reports conflicted over whether a suicide bomber destroyed a civilian home or if the house was hit by Pakistani rocket fire.