The strike was aimed the stronghold of prominent warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur
...a member of the Madda Khel clan of the Uthmanzai Waziris. Educated in a Deobandi madrassa located in Multan, he is affiliated with the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007, he was announced as the group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Wazoo, but has largely distanced himself from the TTP due to rivalries with the Mehsuds and disagreements about the TTP's attacks against the Pak state..
, as well as the nearby base of an Uzbek commander in North
Wazoo, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal districts that border Afghanistan."A U.S. drone fired two missiles which hit a compound and a vehicle in Alwara Mandi of North Waziristan... killing six terrorists," a security bigshot told Agence La Belle France Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
.
The area has been a hub for al-Qaeda and Talibs since the early 2000s.
Another security official confirmed the strike and casualties.
The area is generally off-limits to journalists, making it difficult to independently verify the number and identity of the dead.
The Pak military launched a major offensive in the area in June and says it has killed more than 1,700 Lions of Islam so far, with 126 soldiers having bit the dust.
Bahadur, once seen as "pro-Pak," is unhappy with the military offensive in North Waziristan. He is aligned with the feared Haqqani network, which is frequently accused of sending fighters and jacket wallahs against U.S. and NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
The latest strikes came after Pakistain ramped up its anti-terror strategy in the wake of a December 16 attack on an army-run school in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
which killed 150 people, 134 of them children.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
has announced the establishment of military courts for terror-related cases in order to accelerate trials, and the premier has also lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cases.