Datta Khel airstrike: Difference between revisions
Wikifan12345 (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Campaignbox Waziristan}} |
{{Campaignbox Waziristan}} |
||
{{Infobox military attack |
|||
|title= Datta Khel airstrike |
|||
|image= |
|||
|caption= |
|||
|location= [[North Waziristan]], [[Pakistan]] |
|||
|location= |
|||
|target= [[Taliban]] fighters |
|||
|date={{Start date|2011|03|18}} |
|||
|time= |
|||
|timezone= |
|||
|type= |
|||
|fatalities= 38 |
|||
|injuries= |
|||
|instigator=[[United States]] |
|||
|conflict= |
|||
}} |
|||
The '''Datta Khel airstrike''' was a March 2011 American military airstrike in Datta Khel, [[North Waziristan]] that killed 38 people and led to widespread condemnation in [[Pakistan]]. The airstrike was part of a long series of [[drone attacks in Pakistan]] carried out by the [[United States]] military. |
The '''Datta Khel airstrike''' was a March 2011 American military airstrike in Datta Khel, [[North Waziristan]] that killed 38 people and led to widespread condemnation in [[Pakistan]]. The airstrike was part of a long series of [[drone attacks in Pakistan]] carried out by the [[United States]] military. |
||
Revision as of 07:11, 18 March 2011
| Datta Khel airstrike | |
|---|---|
| Target | Taliban fighters |
| Date | March 18, 2011 |
| Executed by | United States |
| Casualties | 38 killed |
The Datta Khel airstrike was a March 2011 American military airstrike in Datta Khel, North Waziristan that killed 38 people and led to widespread condemnation in Pakistan. The airstrike was part of a long series of drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the United States military.
Attack
According to Pakistani intelligence officials, the attack targeted a compound where several dozen people believed to be Taliban militants linked to Hafiz Gul Bahadur were meeting.[1] On 17 March 2011, two[2] or three[3] missiles were fired within three minutes, killing at least 38 people and injuring around ten others.[2] A security official in Peshawar said that the building that was attacked was used as a training location and meeting place for militants.[2] A car that was transporting additional suspected militants near the location of the primary target was also fired upon.[3]
Of those killed, a Pakistani security official said that eleven Taliban personnel were killed in the attack, while the remainder were civilians.[4] According to a local tribesman, however, the suspected militants were actually a group of tribal elders from a nearby village who were having a business meeting.[5] The meeting was said to be regarding the disputed sale of a chromite mine in the area.[6] The tribesman said that a commander loyal to Bahadur, Sharabat Khan, was present, but only because he was also a tribal elder.[5] Khan was reported to have been killed in the attack.[3]
Reaction
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, issued a statement saying that the attack was "in complete violation of human rights" and that "such aggression against people of Pakistan is unjustified and intolerable under any circumstances."[3] Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani condemned the attack, saying that it would only strengthen the hands of militants.[7] The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Syed Masood Kausar, also strongly condemned the attack, saying that civilians and policemen were killed.[7] Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir asked the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, for an explanation and an apology.[8]
The attack came shortly after CIA contractor Raymond Allen Davis, who had been arrested on charges of killing two people in January, was released, and protests against his release were expected to intensify after the drone strike.[1]
A Pakistani military spokesman said later there was no intrusion into Pakistani territory.[9]
See also
- Gora Prai airstrike
- 23 June 2009 Makeen airstrike
- List of military strikes against presumed terrorist targets
- Waziristan War
References
- ^ a b "Drone attack kills 38". The Telegraph. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ a b c "Dozens die as US drone hits Pakistan home". Al Jazeera. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Pakistan army chief Kayani in US drone outburst". BBC News Online. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ "Drone Attack Kills Civilians in Pakistan". The New York Times. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Suspected U.S. drone strike in Pakistan, 38 killed". Reuters Africa. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ "80 people reportedly killed in U.S. drone strike in Pakistan". Xinhua. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Gen Kayani condemns 'unjustifiable' drone strike". The Express Tribune. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ Wright, Tom (17 March 2011). "Pakistan Slams U.S. Drone Strike". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ "Nato Launches Airstrike Near Border". Reuters. 18 March 2011.
Template:Civilian deaths from military operations in Aghanistan/Pakistan
