It Must Be TGIF...5 Taliban Killed By U.S. Drones In North Waziristan

A number of weeks ago I made the observation that a few of the predator drone strikes by the U.S. taking place in North Waziristan agency in Pakistan were targeting Taliban vehicles instead of the traditional compounds, well since then, it's been all out war by the drones on the vehicles of the mujahadeen as again today, we saw a Taliban vehicle hit by four hellfires killing five Taliban jihadis.

From the article at DAWN:

A barrage of US missiles killed at least five militants in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal district on Friday, destroying a vehicle used by Islamist fighters, security officials said.

Pakistani security officials reported the strikes in what is reputedly the country’s most impregnable Taliban and al Qaeda fortress where US officials want Pakistan to launch a ground offensive to eliminate the militant threat.

They said strikes killed five militants in Ghar Laley village, 35 kilometres west of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

“US drones fired four missiles, targeting a vehicle and a house,” a local security official said.

“So far five bodies have been recovered,” he said. “Taliban have surrounded the area and there are fears the final toll may go up,” he said.

The article mentions how the U.S. wants Pakistan to launch the offensive in North Waziristan and as any loyal reader to Holger Awakens would know, that WAS announced by the Pakistanis a few months ago but never happened. And it certainly doesn't look like it will happen in my estimation. I believe that at the time when the new offensive was announced, there was a sense of vibrato on the part of the Pakistani military - they had just come off very successful operations in South Waziristan and Swat. The problem probably occurred when the military took a real good look at what they would be up against in North Waziristan - this is the fortress of the al Qaeda and the Taliban.

One thing that the drone strikes in North Waziristan has taught us is that the Taliban refuse to leave. And that is just why the U.S. is putting so much pressure on the Pakistanis to move on the area - if the Taliban can be gutted from North Waziristan, well it could very well break the back of the whole force inside of Pakistan. And I would be willing to bet that U.S. military officials have offered to help clear that agency - can you imagine U.S. air power being used in a full out assault in North Waziristan? The death tally of Taliban and al Qaeda would probably exceed the hundreds and be in the thousands.

Five killed in North Waziristan drone attack


MIRAMSHAH: A barrage of US missiles killed at least five militants in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal district on Friday, destroying a vehicle used by Islamist fighters, security officials said.

Pakistani security officials reported the strikes in what is reputedly the country’s most impregnable Taliban and al Qaeda fortress where US officials want Pakistan to launch a ground offensive to eliminate the militant threat.

They said strikes killed five militants in Ghar Laley village, 35 kilometres west of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan.

“US drones fired four missiles, targeting a vehicle and a house,” a local security official said.

“So far five bodies have been recovered,” he said. “Taliban have surrounded the area and there are fears the final toll may go up,” he said.