Thousands flee North Waziristan offensive
Six suspected militants were killed in a presumed US drone strike on Miranshah Tehsil in North Waziristan, Pakistan, June 18. This time, the drone attack comes amid Pakistani air-strikes on militant strongholds in the region—causing 150,000 to flee their homes in recent days. A camp for displaced people has been set up near Bannu, on the border with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, but it lacks food, water and electricity. The Pakistan Army has mobilized tanks and troops, in addition to fighter jets, and is expected to begin a new, more intense phase of what has been dubbed "Operation Zarb-e-Azb" after a three-day window to allow civilians to leave the area ends. Chinese authoriites claim that Uighur members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) are among the militants killed in the Pakistani air-strikes. (Newsweek Pakistan, June 20; CNN, BBC News, June 19; Xinhua, June 15)
US bombs Pakistan —again
A US drone fired two missiles at a compound in North Waziristan Aug. 6, killing seven militants, twoPakistani intelligence officials said. The strike took place in Datta Khel, a town where the Pakistani army has been carrying out a major offensive against local and foreign militants since June 15. (AP)
US targets Pakistani Taliban leader in Afghanistan air-strikes
The US has targeted senior leaders of the Pakistani Taliban, including the group's emir, in three air-strikes in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar over the past nine days. Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, survived one of the air-strikes. (LWJ)