Damadola airstrike

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

On 13 January 2006 the

Bajaur (Urdu: باجوڑ ) tribal area, near the Afghan border, killing at least 18 people. United States officials later admitted that no al-Qaeda leaders perished in the strike and that only local villagers were killed.[1] The attack purportedly targeted Ayman al-Zawahiri, second-in-command of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden
, who was thought to be in the village.

Airstrike

The attack was carried out by four

drones which launched four Hellfire missiles at a mud-walled compound, destroying three houses several hundred yards apart.[2] Another report said that as many as 10 missiles were fired.[3] The official number of dead is 18, including eight men, five women and five children, but other reports indicate that as many as 25 people were killed. Fourteen of the dead were said to be from the same family.[3] There is confusion over the actual number killed, since reports claims that 13–15 of the dead were buried immediately. Some sources say this was "according to Islamic custom",[4] others say they were buried "without customary funeral arrangements".[3]

MQ-1L Predator UAV armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles

The

US forces in Afghanistan.[6] United States and Pakistani officials later admitted that none of those al-Qaeda members perished in the strike and that only local villagers were killed.[1] Midhat Mursi and Khalib Habib were killed in two other missile strikes in 2008.[7][8]

Two Pakistani intelligence officials said Libyan-born Abu Faraj al-Libbi, who was captured in Pakistan in May 2005, told interrogators that he had met al-Zawahiri last year at the home of Bakhtpur Khan, one of the thirteen villagers killed in the airstrike. After that confession, US and Pakistani intelligence agents, with the help of local tribesmen and Afghans, monitored Bakhtpur Khan's home.

Responses

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it protested to US Ambassador

bombing innocent people". Hundreds of riot police were deployed to control the crowds. A leader in the coalition of Islamic groups that organised the nationwide protests demanded that General Musharraf step down.[9]

Also on 15 January, US politicians expressed regret over the deaths caused by the attack but said the airstrike was justified. "It's terrible when innocent people are killed; we regret that," said US Senator

Wild West out there. The Pakistani border (with Afghanistan) is a real problem."[10]

George W. Bush provided written legal authority to the CIA to hunt down and kill people designated as enemy combatant "high-value targets" without seeking further approval each time the agency is about to stage an operation. The CIA believes it possesses all the necessary approvals within its "counterterror" centre in Langley, Virginia to fire missiles anywhere in the world, including Pakistan, when a high-value al-Qaida target is spotted. The agency doesn't require further clearance from the White House, local governments, or the CIA director to kill an al-Qaida operative. The purpose of this expanded authority is to expedite rapid action in case a targeted killing opportunity is time-sensitive.[11][12] On 30 January, a video showing al-Zawahri wearing white robes and a white turban, said the 13 January airstrike killed "innocents" and said the United States had ignored an offer from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden for a truce.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Whitlock, Craig (11 September 2007). "The New Al-Qaeda Central: Far From Declining, the Network Has Rebuilt, With Fresh Faces and a Vigorous Media Arm". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
  2. ^ Airstrike misses Al-Qaeda chief, Times Online, 15 January 2006
  3. ^ a b c "News". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Strike said to target Qaeda hideout". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. ^ Pakistan: At least 4 terrorists killed in U.S. strike – USA Today.
  6. ^ ABC News. "U.S. Strike Killed Al Qaeda Bomb Maker". ABC News. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Al-Qaeda chemical expert 'killed'". BBC News. 28 July 2008.
  8. ^ "Asia Times Online :: South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan". Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "Pakistan rally against US strike". BBC News. 16 January 2006.
  10. ^ "San Jose Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  11. ^ Bush Has Widened Authority of C.I.A. to Kill Terrorists – The Freedom of Information Center Archived 3 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "CIA drone said to kill al-Qaida operative – US news – Security – NBC News". NBC News. 14 May 2005. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  13. ^ Arian, Alfred (1 January 2006). "Al-Zawahri in first video since failed U.S. strike". NBC News.

External links

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