{"id":61407,"date":"2013-03-01T09:14:25","date_gmt":"2013-03-01T09:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/?post_type=news_and_analysis&p=61407"},"modified":"2020-02-24T15:05:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T15:05:58","slug":"february-2013-update-us-covert-actions-in-pakistan-yemen-and-somalia","status":"publish","type":"news_and_analysis","link":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/news\/february-2013-update-us-covert-actions-in-pakistan-yemen-and-somalia\/","title":{"rendered":"February 2013 Update: US covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Brennan \u2013 leading proponent of the drone programme<\/p>\n

and the CIA\u2019s director-designate (C-Span<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

CIA drones kill two alleged al Qaeda commanders in two strikes on Pakistan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

US operations drop to zero in Yemen<\/a> a year after President Saleh was ousted from power.<\/p>\n

No operations reported in Somalia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pakistan<\/strong><\/p>\n

February 2013 actions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total CIA strikes in February:\u00a02<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total killed in strikes in February: 9-14<\/strong>, of whom 0-2\u00a0<\/b>were reportedly civilians<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

All actions 2004 \u2013 February 28 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total Obama strikes:\u00a0312<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total US strikes since 2004:\u00a0364<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total reported killed:\u00a02,534-3,573<\/strong><\/p>\n

Civilians reported killed: 411-884
<\/strong>Children reported killed:\u00a0168-197<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total reported injured:\u00a01,172-1,463<\/strong>
For the Bureau\u2019s full Pakistan databases click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two CIA drone strikes hit Pakistan this month, killing at least nine people.\u00a0This is a significant\u00a0drop from January<\/a> when six strikes reportedly killed 27-54 people.<\/p>\n

On February 7 John Brennan,\u00a0Barack Obama\u2019s nominee for CIA director, went before\u00a0the Senate Intelligence Committee<\/a> for his confirmation hearing.<\/p>\n

The two Pakistan strikes book-ended the Brennan hearing. The first hit the day beforehand, destroying a house and killing alleged\u00a0Pakistan Taliban (TTP) militants<\/a>. It coincided with a Pakistan Air Force raid<\/a> on TTP positions in Orakzai Tribal Agency.<\/p>\n

The second strike took place the day after the hearing finished \u2013 alleged TTP militants were reportedly targeted once again. A house was hit near the border between North and South Waziristan, killing at least six people. Abu Majid al Iraqi<\/strong>\u00a0and Yemeni \u2018bomb expert<\/a>\u2018\u00a0Sheikh Abu Waqas<\/strong> (35), alleged al Qaeda commanders, were reportedly among the dead.<\/p>\n

Not since 2009 have US drones so consistently targeted the TTP. On February 2, TTP militants targeted a Pakistan Army outpost, killing up to 35<\/a>. A Taliban spokesman said the attack was \u2018revenge\u2019 on the Pakistani state which he accused of \u2018co-operating with the US in its drone strikes that killed our two senior commanders, Faisal Khan<\/strong> (Ob306<\/a>)<\/strong> and Toofani<\/strong> (aka Wali Mohammed Mehsud<\/strong>, Ob307<\/strong><\/a>)\u2019.<\/p>\n

Yemen<\/strong><\/p>\n

February 2013 actions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Confirmed US drone strikes: 0<\/strong>
Further reported\/possible US strike events: 0<\/strong>
Total reported killed in US operations: 0
<\/strong>Civilians reported killed in US strikes:\u00a00
<\/strong>Children reported killed in US strikes: 0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

All actions 2002 \u2013 February 28 2013*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total confirmed US operations: 54-64<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total confirmed US drone strikes:\u00a042-52<\/strong><\/p>\n

Possible additional US operations:\u00a0135-157<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of which possible additional US drone strikes:\u00a077-93<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total reported killed:\u00a0374-1,112<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total civilians killed:\u00a072-178<\/strong><\/p>\n

Children killed: 27-37<\/strong>
Click here for the full Yemen data<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

* All but one of these actions have taken place during\u00a0Obama\u2019s presidency. Reports of incidents in Yemen often conflate individual strikes. The range in the total strikes and total drone strikes we have recorded reflects this.<\/em><\/p>\n

There were no reported drone strikes or any other US covert actions in Yemen this month \u2013 in marked contrast to January, when up to\u00a0eight US strikes<\/a>\u00a0killed as many as 38 people.<\/p>\n

This is the first month without a reported US strike since early 2012<\/a>. In fact the Bureau\u2019s data shows that no US drone or airstrike has ever been reported in the month of February<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"2012-2013<\/a>US operations peaked in spring last year but halted during protests<\/p>\n

and political upheaval in February 2012 and 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n

February also marked the first anniversary of the ousting of Ali Abdullah Saleh<\/strong>. The deal that lead to Saleh being replaced by his deputy Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi<\/strong> followed months of brutally repressed protests.\u00a0Anniversary demonstrations were again met with violence by security services, especially in southern Yemen<\/a>, and at least three people were killed in clashes.<\/p>\n

Also in February, the New York Times finally reported<\/a> that CIA drones fly over Yemen from a base in Saudi Arabia.\u00a0It emerged that the paper, among other leading US media<\/a> outlets, had suppressed this detail at the request of the White House, even though it was first reported by The Times of London<\/a> in 2011.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object>
Al Jazeera\u2019s\u00a0Listening\u00a0Post on the CIA\u2019s once-secret Saudi base.<\/em><\/p>\n

A Russian-made Yemen Air Force fighter-bomber<\/a> crashed in a central Sanaa neighbourhood on February 19.\u00a0Buildings were set on fire and 12 people died, including two children. It was described as an incident of \u2018heartrending absurdity<\/a>\u2018 that reinforced how decrepit and unfit<\/a> for purpose much of the Yemen Air Force remains.<\/p>\n

Somalia<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

February 2013 actions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total reported US operations: 0<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

All actions 2007 \u2013 February 28 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total US operations: 10-23<\/strong><\/p>\n

Total US drone strikes: 3-9
<\/strong>Total reported killed: 58-170
<\/strong>Civilians reported killed: 11-57<\/strong><\/p>\n

Children reported killed: 1-3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Click here for the Bureau\u2019s full data on Somalia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once again there were no reported US operations in Somalia \u2013 the sixth consecutive month without an apparent strike.\u00a0It remains extremely difficult to obtain credible information regarding military actions in the country, even for intelligence agencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This month saw al Shabaab return to Twitter<\/a> after falling foul of the website\u2019s terms of use. New profiles replace English and Arabic predecessors that were blocked after they were used to broadcast images of dead French commandos<\/a> and threats to kill Kenyan hostages.<\/p>\n

Other news<\/strong><\/p>\n

US military expansion in Africa continues with President Obama sending\u00a0100 soldiers to Niger<\/a>. The Sahel state is host to the US\u2019 latest drone base, a response to growing militancy in the region and ongoing hostility<\/a> in Mali.<\/p>\n

John Brennan went before the Senate Intelligence Committee<\/a> as the President\u2019s nominee for director of the CIA.\u00a0Brennan promised to bring greater transparency<\/a> to the drone programme, saying drone strikes are \u2018a last resort to save lives<\/a>, when there\u2019s no other alternative.\u2019<\/p>\n

Oversight\u00a0and transparency of the drone programme remain prominent concerns. This has led some, including chair of the Senate Intelligence committee Dianne Feinstein and former US defence secretary Robert Gates, to suggest a secret court<\/a> be formed to provide some oversight to the targeted killing programme. And officials have told reporters<\/a> the\u00a0administration\u00a0is considering moving control of some drone strikes from the CIA to the Pentagon. However strikes in Pakistan would remain under the Agency\u2019s control.<\/p>\n

Bureau changes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is now two years since the Bureau began compiling data on US covert drone strikes in Pakistan. Our work has expanded significantly to cover the conflicts in Yemen and Somalia, with more than 500 incidents now recorded across many data sets. As the Bureau embarks on its new project, Naming the Dead<\/a>, we have recently completed an audit of our Pakistan drone strike\u00a0data<\/a>\u00a0to ensure consistency across all of our work.\u00a0This has led to a small fall in our minimum number of reported civilian casualties, mostly a result of our reclassifying some strikes to better reflect our sources.<\/p>\n

We have also made more overt the sourcing for all reports of\u00a0civilian\u00a0casualties, and have introduced yearly tables into the data. Our Methodology <\/a>also now spells out more clearly our processes when handling reports of civilian deaths.<\/p>\n

Follow\u00a0Chris Woods<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Alice Ross<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jack Serle<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on Twitter.<\/em><\/p>\n

To sign up for monthly updates from the Bureau\u2019s Covert War project click\u00a0<\/span>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In February and March, support the Bureau\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Naming the Dead<\/a>\u00a0project, identifying those killed in drone strikes, through the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Click<\/span>\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to donate.<\/span><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":61406,"template":"","tags":[477,471,470,478,480],"country":[437,436,435],"belligerent":[430],"authors":[575,559,569],"class_list":["post-61407","news_and_analysis","type-news_and_analysis","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-drone-warfare","tag-stories","tag-tbij-covert-drone-wars-archive","tag-us-civilian-harm","tag-us-transparency","country-pakistan","country-somalia","country-yemen","belligerent-us-forces","authors-alice-ross","authors-chris-woods","authors-jack-serle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_and_analysis\/61407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_and_analysis"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news_and_analysis"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61407"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=61407"},{"taxonomy":"belligerent","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/belligerent?post=61407"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwars.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=61407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}