PressTV – 2012-06-14 12:17:39
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/13/246030/us-drone-strike-kills-several-pakistani/
US Assassination Drone Strike Kills at Least Four in Pakistan
Press TV
MOSCOW (June 13, 2012) — At least four people have been killed in an airstrike carried out by a US assassination drone in the North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan.
The Wednesday attack was carried out in the town of Miranshah, the administrative headquarters of the North Waziristan Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.
Despite the Pakistani government’s repeated calls on Washington to end the drone attacks on civilians, the US government continues its strikes on the tribal regions of the country.
Washington claims its drone strikes target militants, although casualty figures clearly indicate that Pakistani civilians are the main victims of the non-UN-sanctioned attacks.
More than 150 people have died in drone attacks in Pakistan’s northwest tribal regions since the beginning of this year.
The killing of Pakistani civilians, including women and children, in the US drone strikes have strained relations between the two allies, prompting the Pakistani officials to send warnings to the US administration over the assaults.
In 2001, Pakistan entered an alliance with the US against the so-called war on terror but the controversial issue of the drone strikes, considered by Islamabad as a violation of the country’s sovereignty, has at times jeopardized the partnership.
3 Die in US Drone Attack in NW Pakistan
MOSCOW (June 14, 2012) — A US assassination drone strike has killed three people in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal area of North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan.
The attack took place early on Thursday when the drone fired two missiles on a building in Miranshah, the main town in the area, AFP reported. At least four people had been killed in another US drone attack on the same town on Wednesday.
Last Saturday, US President Barack Obama ordered a sharp increase in the assassination strikes in the tribal areas.
Washington claims that its airstrikes target militants crossing the border with Afghanistan, but local sources say civilians have been the main victims of the attacks.
Since May 23, the strikes have killed over 60 people in the North and South Waziristan tribal areas — five on May 23, 10 on May 24, four on May 26, 12 on May 28, four on June 2, 10 on June 3, and 16 on June 4.
Pakistanis have held many demonstrations to condemn the United States violations of their country’s sovereignty.
On January 31, Obama publicly admitted to the US use of the unmanned drones in Pakistan and other countries.
In response to questions about the use of the assassination drones by his administration in a chat with web users on Google+ and YouTube, he said “a lot of these strikes have been in the FATA†— Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the official name for the country’s semi-autonomous tribal region, which encompasses North and South Waziristan.
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