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US steps up drone attacks in Pakistan after convoy talks fail - NY Daily News
Five suspected militants died in an American drone strike early on Monday, the fourth attack in the past week as the CIA steps up its controversial campaign in the skies over Pakistan.
Local officials said the target was a compound in Hassokhel town, close to Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan, a haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked fighters.Drones have bombarded Pakistan's tribal areas since 2004, but slowed their barrage this year as Islamabad and Washington tried to patch up their differences to allow Nato supply convoys back on to Pakistani roads.However, the strikes have intensified since a Nato summit in Chicago earlier this month, where President Barack Obama failed to reach an agreement with his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari."The US drones targeting a militant compound and a vehicle fired four missiles killing five rebels," said a Pakistani security official.A second salvo of four missiles was fired 20 minutes later, he added.The men killed are thought to be foreign fighters – possibly Uzbek or Arab.In the two months leading up to the Nato summit, there were only three recorded strikes.Relations between Pakistan and American have remained close to breaking point after 24 Pakistani soldiers were mistakenly killed by US air strikes close to the Afghan border in November last year.Islamabad immediately halted Nato supply convoys and has hardened its stance against drones, which were previously given secret approval.Observers believe the CIA slowed its use of unmanned aircraft in order to give talks in Chicago a chance of success.But President Obama delivered a stinging snub during the summit, denying President Zardari a one-on-one meeting and voicing frustration with Islamabad."The talks in Chicago did not go well and now we see a spike in drone activity: Do the math, as our American friends might say," said a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Five suspected militants died in an American drone strike early on Monday, the fourth attack in the past week as the CIA steps up its controversial campaign in the skies over Pakistan.
Local officials said the target was a compound in Hassokhel town, close to Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan, a haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked fighters.Drones have bombarded Pakistan's tribal areas since 2004, but slowed their barrage this year as Islamabad and Washington tried to patch up their differences to allow Nato supply convoys back on to Pakistani roads.However, the strikes have intensified since a Nato summit in Chicago earlier this month, where President Barack Obama failed to reach an agreement with his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari."The US drones targeting a militant compound and a vehicle fired four missiles killing five rebels," said a Pakistani security official.A second salvo of four missiles was fired 20 minutes later, he added.The men killed are thought to be foreign fighters – possibly Uzbek or Arab.In the two months leading up to the Nato summit, there were only three recorded strikes.Relations between Pakistan and American have remained close to breaking point after 24 Pakistani soldiers were mistakenly killed by US air strikes close to the Afghan border in November last year.Islamabad immediately halted Nato supply convoys and has hardened its stance against drones, which were previously given secret approval.Observers believe the CIA slowed its use of unmanned aircraft in order to give talks in Chicago a chance of success.But President Obama delivered a stinging snub during the summit, denying President Zardari a one-on-one meeting and voicing frustration with Islamabad."The talks in Chicago did not go well and now we see a spike in drone activity: Do the math, as our American friends might say," said a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
