(Previous Incident Code: Ob98 )

A US drone strike allegedly struck a house in Haider Khel, Mir Ali, north Waziristan, killing up to 17 people and wounding 18 – however, sources were not clear if civilians were among the victims.

Shortly after the strike, Pakistan Tribune reported: “The attack occurred at around 10 am when a US pilot-less aircraft fired two missiles at a building in Sokhel village of the Mir Ali sub-division.”

According to reports a group of “militants’” meeting covertly inside a local water plant was attacked, and a nearby house rented from Malik Mir Sharof was also destroyed. Up to 17 alleged militants were killed and 18 injured, many from the Islamic Jihad Union. Al Qaeda’s Sheikh Abu Ahmad Arkash or Tarkash was later reported among the dead. A militant commander confirmed casualties to The News.

Also, a secret Pakistani government document said two locals and 14 non-locals were killed in the attack. The document was an official record of CIA drone strikes and was published by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in January 2014.

However, because multiple sources said that between 11 and 15 “people” were killed along with “seven others” injured, civilian harm cannot be excluded. And, as of now, up to 15 fatalities and seven injured will be treated as possible being civilians.

Finally, all sources reported that the strike was carried out by the US. The Long Wa Journal, for example, reported how “unmanned Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired missiles at a Taliban safe house in the Mir Ali area, killing 16 terrorists.”