US breaks drone war pause
June 12, 2014
After nearly a six-month pause, the US has resumed its drone war in Pakistan, launching missiles against alleged militants in the tribal region near the border with Afghanistan.
US drones attacked a vehicle and a compound in the village of Ghulam Khan on Thursday, killing at least 10 people, according to Pakistani intelligence officials. On Wednesday, American drones killed at least three alleged militants in the same region.
In a speech at the National Defense University in May of 2013, US President Barack Obama had promised to reign in his administration's drone war. Prior to the strike on Wednesday, American drones last fired their missiles on Pakistani territory in December.
The latest strikes come less than a week after Pakistani Taliban militants, in cooperation with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, attacked Karachi airport on Sunday. At least 34 people died in that attack. The Pakistani government has launched its own airstrikes in response.
Human rights groups have said the US drone program violates international law and has killed scores of civilians. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, US drones have killed more than 2,400 people in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen since 2008. At least 273 of the dead were reportedly civilians.
slk/hc (AP, AFP, dpa)