(Previous Incident Code: Ob337 )

Up to seven civilians were injured in airstrikes in North Waziristan. Both Agence France Presse and Express Tribune did not specify if those that were killed and injured were militants or civilians, only referring to them as “people”. However, the rest of the sources referenced those killed as militants. Between 13 and 24 alleged militants were killed in the airstrikes. An unnamed security official said the attack struck an important meeting but it was unclear where it took place, with some sources saying that a compound was destroyed while others said a mosque was struck.

Most reports said this attack destroyed a vehicle and a house. Resident Malik Wakil Khan told Reuters 18 bodies had been recovered from the rubble of a destroyed building. However one source, citing unnamed Datta Khel residents, reported two mosques were targeted in the attack. A local said “twelve people were killed at one place and eight others at another mosque”, without specifying they were members of an armed group.

Drones were reportedly still flying over the scene as people continued to search the rubble. The identity of the dead was not immediately clear though one source said 12 people were Uzbeks. An unnamed intelligence official told the Washington Post: “The compound was being used by foreign militants, and some local terrorists were present in the vehicle that got targeted.” Residents said 12 were Central Asians and eight were local men.

The area was reportedly under the control of Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s armed group. The pro-Taliban group had avoided being targeted by the Pakistan government after signing a peace accord in 2006 that reportedly held for eight years. However in June Gul Bahadur declared war on the Pakistan Army after the military incursion into North Waziristan began on June 15.

The strike reportedly hit at around 2am local time. A few hours later a Pakistan Air Force strike killed at least 35 people in the Shawal valley. The remote area is on the border between North and South Waziristan, as well as Afghanistan Paktika province. Pakistani military officials said militants retreating from the Pakistan Army’s month-old offensive in North Waziristan had taken refuge in the Shawal. They said this strike targetted TTP members, including Uzbeks, Chechens and Arab fighters.

The attack came the day after the Pakistan military arrested Adnan Rashid, a senior figure in the TTP. Rashid was picked up in South Waziristan having been reportedly injured fighting the Pakistan military in North Waziristan.