AFP/File – US Air Force file photo of an unmanned predator aerial vehicle with a hellfire missile attached. The U.S. has carried out a series of more than 30 missile strikes since August in Pakistan's lawless, semiautonomous tribal areas, targeting al-Qaida and Taliban militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan. While the missile strikes have killed scores of militants, Pakistani officials have criticized them as an infringement of its sovereignty and say they undermine their own war on terror.(from article just below)Most of the missiles are believed to have been launched from unmanned spy planes that take off from Afghanistan. Washington rarely confirms or denies the attacks.
Suspected US Missile strike in Pakistan kills 8
By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD, Associated Press Writer Ishtiaq Mahsud, Associated Press Writer 36 mins ago December 22, 2008
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – Suspected U.S. missile strikes killed at least eight people Monday in volatile northwest Pakistan, officials and witnesses said.
Bakht Janan, a local security official at a check post, said an unmanned drone aircraft began circling over the village of Kari Khel around 3 a.m., then fired missiles at two vehicles several hours later. Witnesses told The Associated Press that one of the vehicles had been blasting away with an anti-aircraft gun at the drone.
Four people were killed as missiles hit the vehicle and an adjacent, fortlike house, while four others died and one was injured in the second vehicle five miles (eight kilometers) away by dirt track.
Janan said an unexploded missile was found on the ground near the first vehicle.
Yar Mohammad, a villager, said local Taliban pulled out bodies from the rubble while cordoning off the scene about 10 miles (15 kilometers) south of Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border.
The U.S. has carried out a series of more than 30 missile strikes since August in Pakistan's lawless, semiautonomous tribal areas, targeting al-Qaida and Taliban militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan. While the missile strikes have killed scores of militants, Pakistani officials have criticized them as an infringement of its sovereignty and say they undermine their own war on terror.
Most of the missiles are believed to have been launched from unmanned spy planes that take off from Afghanistan. Washington rarely confirms or denies the attacks.
Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
oneheartforpeace blogger's comment:
Something is terribly wrong with this picture & any threats to continue this pattern of US attacks apparently unmanned without accountability! Keep watching this AP writer for more along this line & peruse some of his & other former articles...
Here
Look at EARLIER items on similar events to watch for patterns...
Suspected U.S. missiles kill 8 in Pakistan - CNN.com
Two missiles fired from an unmanned drone struck a religious school in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region Thursday, killing eight people and wounding six others
/10/23/pakistan
US not allowed to fire missiles into Pakistan: Aziz -DAWN - Top Stories ...
... to use unmanned aircraft to fire missiles into Pakistan to kill terrorists. ... civilians died when an unmanned US drone fired missiles into a Pakistani village
here
Missile strike kills civilians on Pakistan-Afghan border: officials
Miranshah, Pakistan (AFP) Sept 5, 2008 - Three children and two women were killed when missiles fired by a suspected unmanned US aircraft hit a village...
Suspected US missile kill four children in Pakistan
Islamabad, Sep 5 (Xinhua) Four children were killed by missiles fired from a suspected unmanned US plane targeting militant hideouts in Pakistan's tribal area ...
North Waziristan - CNN.com A suspected U.S. missile from an unmanned drone killed three people Saturday in Pakistan's tribal region, according to a Pakistani military source ...
Drone aircraft kills Pakistani border dwellers
An unmanned drone aircraft has unleashed missiles into Pakistan, killing at least six people...Suspected US missile kill four children in Pakistan
Four children were killed by missiles fired from a suspected unmanned US plane ..
Pakistan: Missiles hit house, at least 20 dead - USATODAY dot com
A missile strike near the Afghan border destroyed the house of a suspected militant leader Sunday, killing at least 20 ... missiles were fired by an unmanned
(again please note that ALL EXCEPT the top article(s) referring to December 22, 2008 are OLDER items placed on this blog because of the pattern...civilians killed, unmanned drone apparently unaccountable to anyone...certainly not to Pakistani peoples nor even to the American people at large...
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This following article is submitted as this also just came out on Pakistan today, December 22, 2008 in The Daily Times dot com
Pakistan can defend itself, says Qureshi
ISLAMABAD: A war between Pakistan and India is not in the interest of either country, but Islamabad has the right to defend itself if attacked, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday.
“Pakistan does not want war, we desire peace, but if war is thrust on us, then we have every right to defend ourselves,” Qureshi told reporters at Multan Airport.
“We condemn the Mumbai attacks and all other acts of terrorism no matter where they occur – in Pakistan, India or any other part of the world. We don’t want war, because war will put the future of both countries at stake. No one will be safe in the event of war,” he said. “We are prepared to co-operate with India, but India should provide concrete evidence.”
A private television channel quoted Qureshi as saying that the Pakistan armed forces were fully prepared.
“The government and armed forces are fully alert. We have to defend the country, which we have to do at all costs.”
Regarding India’s demand that Islamabad hand over terror suspects to New Delhi, the foreign minister said Pakistan and India had their own laws. “We have to take decisions consistent with our laws and India in consonance with its own laws. We still stand by our stance that we are ready for co-operation with India,” he said.
Commenting on a statement by the Indian foreign minister, Qureshi said rhetoric and emotional statements would not resolve problems. “We will have to work earnestly for peace in the region.” agencies
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You may want to listen to/comment on the discussion on Robots in the Military/Warfare on the BBC World Service - see post below...
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