Toll from suspected US strike now 9

Published
0

-File Photo

MIRANSHAH: Pakistani officials say the death toll from a suspected US drone strike in a restive tribal region has risen to 9, all of whom were militants.

Two intelligence officials said Saturday that three members of the Pakistani Taliban movement wounded in the Friday strike on a militant compound died overnight. They had originally put the death toll at six.

The officials said their field informants confirmed two members of al Qaeda, Abu Majid Al Iraqi and Sheikh Abu Waqas Al-Yamani, were among the dead. They said the remaining seven were all members of Pakistan's branch of the Taliban. Both officials spoke anonymously as they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

The Taliban did not immediately comment on the strike in the Babar Ghar area of South Waziristan.

The drone fired two missiles on a house, destroying it completely. Five others were also injured, sources said.

Abu Waqas was the group's bombs and explosives expert. Sources also said that the compound was full of TTP figures, who were having dinner at the time of the drone attack.

The area is inhabited by Hakimullah Mehsud-led TTP fighters and other foreigners.

Additional reporting by Zahir Shah Sherazi

Opinion

Editorial

Debt that stays
30 Jul, 2026

Debt that stays

THE power sector’s circular debt grew by Rs61bn in the last fiscal year, taking the total to roughly Rs1.67tr from...
HIV warning
30 Jul, 2026

HIV warning

THE HIV infections detected around two SESSI-run hospitals in Karachi demand far more than another hurried committee...
End trafficking
30 Jul, 2026

End trafficking

MODERN slavery, in the form of human trafficking, is among the state’s gravest failures. Scores of Pakistanis are...
AJK elections
29 Jul, 2026

AJK elections

CONSIDERING the political unrest that has rocked Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past, free and fair general...
Still vulnerable
29 Jul, 2026

Still vulnerable

THE State Bank’s decision to hold the policy rate at 11.5pc is a prudent response to the heightened risks the...
Guarding the past
29 Jul, 2026

Guarding the past

THE return of 513 smuggled archaeological artefacts from the US is a welcome homecoming for objects that should ...