Okay, so they were a day late this week. :) American predator drones must have set a record in this strike on a Taliban training camp compound in North Waziristan, not only in killing 14 jihadis but in that they fired a reportedly 12 hellfire missiles.
From the report at The Long War Journal:
This is obviously a big score for the good guys and I think I'll go out on a limb like last night and state that in a couple of days or so we will hear of a fairly significant Taliban or al Qaeda leader being killed in this strike - I'm not exactly sure how many hellfires the new Reapers carry but this strike represented a huge commitment by our guys to hit this compound and try not to leave any survivors - that leads me to believe that we had some serious intel about a high value target being there.
Speaking of going out on a limb, the report that Mullah Omar being captured by the Pakistanis still hasn't been collaborated by any of the most trustworthy sources - Bill Roggio of The Long War Journal has remained silent and I just checked Pakistan's DAWN and they have nothing up. So while I'm hopeful, it's not a good sign that no one else has reported on the capture.
From the report at The Long War Journal:
The US launched a barrage of missiles at a Taliban compound in a known al Qaeda haven in the Taliban stronghold of North Waziristan.
Unmanned Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired 12 missiles at a compound and vehicles parked outside in the Datta Khel region near the Afghan border. The compound was described as a "training camp" run by North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar.
Fourteen extremists were killed in the strike, according to AFP. Three more were wounded, and the death toll is expected to rise.
No senor al Qaeda or Taliban leaders have been reported killed at this time. But the concentrated attack indicates a high value target may have been at the compound.
This is obviously a big score for the good guys and I think I'll go out on a limb like last night and state that in a couple of days or so we will hear of a fairly significant Taliban or al Qaeda leader being killed in this strike - I'm not exactly sure how many hellfires the new Reapers carry but this strike represented a huge commitment by our guys to hit this compound and try not to leave any survivors - that leads me to believe that we had some serious intel about a high value target being there.
Speaking of going out on a limb, the report that Mullah Omar being captured by the Pakistanis still hasn't been collaborated by any of the most trustworthy sources - Bill Roggio of The Long War Journal has remained silent and I just checked Pakistan's DAWN and they have nothing up. So while I'm hopeful, it's not a good sign that no one else has reported on the capture.
US pounds Taliban compound in North Waziristan
The US launched a barrage of missiles at a Taliban compound in a known al Qaeda haven in the Taliban stronghold of North Waziristan.
Unmanned Predators or the more deadly Reapers fired 12 missiles at a compound and vehicles parked outside in the Datta Khel region near the Afghan border. The compound was described as a "training camp" run by North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar.
Fourteen extremists were killed in the strike, according to AFP. Three more were wounded, and the death toll is expected to rise.
No senor al Qaeda or Taliban leaders have been reported killed at this time. But the concentrated attack indicates a high value target may have been at the compound.
Datta Khel is a known al Qaeda hub
Today's strike is the second in Datta Khel in three days. On May 9, US Predators fired two missiles at a compound in the village of Inzar Kala in Datta Khel, killing 10 "rebels," including suspected al Qaeda operatives. “The compound became suspicious as it was being used by foreigners,” a Pakistani official said, referring to al Qaeda fighters.
Today's airstrike took place in a region administered by North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar. Al Qaeda and allied Pakistani and Central Asian jihadist groups shelter in Bahadar's tribal areas, and they also run training camps and safe houses in the region.
Datta Khel is a known hub for al Qaeda. The Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army, al Qaeda's military force, is based in the region. The US has struck targets in Datta Khel 13 times since 2004, which makes for nearly 10 percent of the attacks.
The US killed Abdullah Said al Libi, the leader of the Lashkar al Zil, and Zuhaib al Zahibi, a senior commander, in a Dec. 17, 2009, strike in Datta Khel. The target of the attack was Sheikh Saeed al Saudi, Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law and a senior leader on al Qaeda's Shura Majlis, or executive council.
Despite the known presence of al Qaeda and other foreign groups in North Waziristan, the Pakistani military has indicated that it has no plans to take on Bahadar or the Haqqani Network, a deadly Taliban group that is closely allied with al Qaeda. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
The US is stepping up pressure on Pakistan to take the Taliban and al Qaeda directly in North Waziristan and the port city of Karachi since the recent failed attack in Times Square in New York City has been traced back to Waziristan. Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American behind the plot, admitted to training with the Taliban in North Waziristan.
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