(Previous Incident Code: Ob361 )

CIA drones targeted a house in Shawal area of North Waziristan killing five, six or seven people – including a US citizen.

On April 22 the White House publicly acknowledged it had killed three US citizens and an Italian in two drone strikes in January 2015. Adam Gadahn was killed, according to the White House press secretary, though he did not specify when. He said it was “likely in a separate U.S. Government counterterrorism operation” to the January 15 strike that killed two Americans, aid worker Warren Weinstein and al Qaeda member Ahmed Farouq, and Italian Giovani Lo Porto. Unnamed US officials told the New York Times Gadahn died on January 19.

Southern Californian Gadahn converted to Islam aged 17 reportedly left the US in the 1990s. He was indicted for treason in 2006 – the first such indictment in more than 50 years, the New York Times reported.

The identities of the dead was not immediately known however a senior Pakistani official said “non-Pakistani, foreign fighters” were among the dead and Taliban sources said the attack also killed local fighters associated with Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur. This was the third of four strikes to reportedly target Bahadur himself, or men loyal to him.

Initial reports said four people died in the attack, with an intelligence source told Reuters: “Through our local sources and intercepts, (we know) a drone fired two missiles at a compound in the Shawal area and killed four militants. The number of dead may go up.” The casualty counts have risen. In the days following the attack, more sources reported seven people perished. An unnamed senior government official told The News: “The drone fired four missiles at a militants’ compound in Shawal Valley. According to initial information, seven militants were killed and four injured.”

The Shawal has long been a stronghold for armed groups in North Waziristan because its steep valleys and thick woodland make it easily defensible. It appears the area has become more signficant for the armed groups since the Pakistan military operation in the area began last year, with the official told The News: “All the militant groups, including members of al Qaeda, had shifted to the mountainous Shawal Valley after the government launched a military operation against them in the plains of North Waziristan.”

The Pakistani government condemned the strike as a breach of sovereignty – a reiteration of its official position on the drone attacks.