Dande Darpakhel airstrike
| Dande Darpakhel airstrike | |
|---|---|
| Part of War in North-West Pakistan | |
 The MQ-9 Reaper began operation in Afghanistan in October 2007 | |
| Type | UAV attack |
| Location | North Waziristan, Pakistan |
| Target | Taliban figure |
| Date | 8 September 2008 |
| Executed by | United States |
| Casualties | 23 killed 18 injured |
The Dande Darpakhel airstrike took place on the morning of 8 September 2008 when a United States Air Force drone aircraft fired a number of missiles at a former madrassa (religious school) complex located in the village of Dande Darpakhel, near the main town Miranshah, North Waziristan, Pakistan. It was part of a series of drone attacks targeting presumed militants, which took advantage of the power vacuum in Pakistan, following the fall of Pervez Musharraf on 18 August 2008.
The airstrike killed 23 people, including eight children, and wounded at least eighteen. The targets of the strike were Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin, neither of whom was present at the time.[1] Among the 23 people killed were one of Jalaluddin's two wives, his sister, sister-in-law and eight of his grandchildren.[2]
However, their family had arrived just half an hour before, suggesting that the US acted on fresh intelligence, possibly video from the drones transmitted in real time.[3]
See also
References
- ^ U.S. Missiles Said To Kill 20 in Pakistan Near Afghan Border, The Washington Post, 9 September 2008
- ^ U.S. attack on Taliban kills 23 in Pakistan, The New York Times, 9 September 2008
- ^ Perlez, J. & Shah, P.Z. 2008, "US attack on Taliban kills 23 in Pakistan", International Herald Tribune, 9 September 2008. Retrieved on 10 September 2008.