US Drone Strike Against North Waziristan Kills Five

Toll May Rise as Rescue Workers Continue to Search Rubble

by Jason Ditz, Antiwar.com, September 11, 2011

 

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A US drone strike against the Hasou Khel village in North Waziristan Agency today killed at least five people and left a number of others wounded. The attack destroyed a pickup truck and also leveled a house, burying people within.

Pakistani officials said that the four people slain in the vehicle were “militants” but the identities of the people in the destroyed house have not been made clear. Locals say the toll may rise further as rescue workers continue to search for more people buried in the house.
The attack was reported as the 40th drone strike against North Waziristan Agency this year, and the 55th strike against Pakistan overall. The Pakistani government has repeatedly demanded the US halt such strikes.

The attacks have been one of the primary grievances among Pakistani civilians, and a key reason for the rising anti-US sentiment across the nation, as US officials treat the complaints about push-button killing as an afterthought, and certainly nothing that would cause a change in policy.