Islamabad, February 25: Two non-UN-sanctioned US drone strikes on Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt bordering Afghanistan have claimed ten lives and caused many more injuries.
The first drone attack fired four missiles on the Data Khel area near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. It killed at least four people and injured several others.
Shortly after the first attack, a second fired two missiles on a vehicle approaching the scene, causing more fatalities.
“Identities of those killed in the strike also could not be immediately known,” a Pakistani security official told AFP.
A Brookings report published in 2009 suggests that poor US surveillance has led to high civilian fatalities in Pakistan despite US claims that the air raids target militants. The report says that for every militant killed, about 10 civilians lose their lives.
Pakistan has put the civilian death toll from the non-sanctioned strikes at 55 for every militant killed.
Islamabad has repeatedly said that the attacks are counterproductive in the so-called fight against terrorism and only inflame anti-US sentiment.
The US had halted drone attacks for one month following the killing of two Pakistani nationals by Raymond Davis, an employee at the US embassy in Islamabad.
Washington insists that Davis acted in self-defense and should be released based on his diplomatic immunity.
Pakistani intelligence officials assert he was an undercover contractor for the CIA and should remain in custody.
——–Agencies