(Previous Incident Code: Ob339 )

Between five and seven possibly civilians were killed and two to three others were injured in airstrikes in Datta Khel. Various sources, including Dunya News, Frontier Post and Express Tribune, did not specify whether those killed were civilians or militants. The rest of the sources alleged that between five and seven belligerents were killed and two to three other belligerents were injured.

At least five people were reported killed and two or three more injured in a drone strike in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan.

Most reports stated that five were killed when a drone fired two missiles at a house. However one report said six died when four missiles were fired at a house and a vehicle, and other reports counted seven killed.

Intelligence sources reportedly said “most” of the dead were “foreigners”, though the identity of those killed “could not be ascertained”.

Some reports said “suspected foreign militants” were among the dead, though it was not clear what armed group they belonged to. Local intelligence officials told AFP that some Uzbeks and members of the Haqqani network were among the dead. Initial reports said two alleged militants were reportedly injured though later reports counted three.

None of the dead were named in initial reports. This was the fourth drone strike to hit Datta Khel in 2014, with all four reported to have hit houses.

Pakistan military air strikes in the North Waziristan tribal region have reportedly killed 30 militants this week. In a statement the Pakistan army said that six alleged “militant hideouts” have been destroyed in the Datta Khel area, though these claims have not been independently verified.

The Pakistani army has been carrying out an offensive against the Taliban and other militant groups in the area since June. The Pakistan Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the strike.

In December 2015 it emerged that senior al Qaeda fighter Abu Dujana al Basha was killed in a strike in either Afghanistan or Pakistan on or around this date.