Demystifying the Drone

Disclaimer : We do not propose support of drone strikes with this critical analysis. Our only aim is to critically analyze a database that is full of errors, fabrications and that misleads people. We shall try our best to provide link for each and every claim. Due to paucity of time and this being an individual effort, we could not do so at this time. However we do name sources for all reports.

Drone strikes have evolved to become a national political issue with the media and public opinion constantly pressing the government to take up the issue with the US. Opposition to drone strikes is mostly based on ill-conceived notions of sovereignty, ghairat (honour) and figures that seem to suggest that drone strikes are inaccurate and lead to a high number of civilian casualties (not to suggest that there cannot be any informed opposition to drone strikes). From Imran Khan to Munawar Hassan, right wing political parties and religious groups have used drone strikes to forward their agenda by misguiding people through erroneous, fabricated and fictional data. As a result, thousands of people have been mobilized across the country to oppose these strikes.

Papers published such as “The CIA’s Covert Drone War in Pakistan, 2004-2010 : The History of an Assassination Campaign, “New Light on the Accuracy of the CIA’s Predator Drone Campaign in Pakistan” and “Sudden Justice? Evaluating the U.S. Predator Campaign in Pakistan” have already challenged the exaggerations and fabrications of these parties and media groups. The figures they provide, contradict the ones thrown at us. The casualty rates are 13.56 militants:1 civilian:3.35 unknowns according to one paper, the New America Foundation put civilian deaths at 24% and the Long War Journal at 9%. The figures cited by a leading newspaper were so erroneous that their account of the total militants killed was less than the number of militants killed in a single drone strike that they themselves had reported. Such unethical exaggerations and fabrications should be unacceptable in journalism and they construct the wider narrative about drone strikes in the public opinion.

An online database of suicide bombings and drone strikes in Pakistan is maintained at a website called Pakistan Body Count (hereinafter referred to as PBC) by Dr. Zeeshan Usmani, a former Fulbright Scholar and currently Assistant Professor at GIKI. Fulfilling the tradition of the lack of intellectual integrity and dishonesty, his data has been used by various media outlets without giving him credit.  The data reports that as of late September 2010, only 32 Al-Qaeda militants have been killed by US drone strikes in comparison to 1,778 civilians giving a paltry 1.76 percent strike rate accuracy. As we shall show categorically, much of this data is erroneous, flawed and plagued by numerous transgressions. Academic credentials alone cannot guarantee lack of bias and the use of technology cannot assure authenticity of data.

The first problem is that Dr. Usmani has only two entities in his data i.e Al-Qaeda and civilians. Where do the Taliban fit in, precisely the Afghan Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI)? Where does targeting monsters like Baituallah Mehsud and Qari Hussain Mehsud fit in this scenario? There is no justification for including TTP, LI or any other militant groups in the same category as civilians. Such gimmicks are only being used to mislead the whole world and any such defence of the flawed data is misleading and unacceptable. We cannot claim whether the data is manipulated and purposely flawed for ideological reasons. What we can assert is that this alone leaves a serious flaw in his data collection and since the Government of Pakistan officially declares TTP, LI and associated groups as terrorists and has been pursuing an active military campaign against them, including their deaths amongst civilians is a serious distortion of the truth, erroneous and contrary to acceptable logic. Their deaths are and should be included as a part of the accuracy of drone strikes.

As can be seen from the errors mentioned below, casualties of Taliban and many other militant groups are included amongst civilian. The data is highly unreliable and use of this data for making any claims about drone accuracy would have severe epistemological implications. Moreover, the data, at multiple occasions, ignores reports of Al-Qaeda leaders and associates killed in attacks and the casualties are again reported as civilians. Even if Dr Usmani believes that the Afghan Taliban are not terrorists, militants or any other word as such, data collection on this issue should not classify them as civilians since they are the target of US forces and their death at the hands of a drone should count towards the success of the drone – regardless of the ideological leaning of the personal compiling statistics. If in his defence, Dr Usmani could claim that listing somebody as Al-Qaeda would require names i.e. confirmation that a certain person has died than this argument too falls apart since in their defence, opponents of drone strikes must bring names and information about each and every civilian killed in the strikes. The fact of the matter is that data collection on these issues is difficult but newspaper reporters use their local and intelligence sources to ballpark figures. Militant deaths are not reported by name unless it’s a leading figure whose death is celebrated by as martyrdom by militant groups themselves. Farhat Taj has already challenged the opponents to bring data to back their claims, and now so do we.

There lies no factuality in the rhetoric that strives to create a cause and effect relationship between drone attacks and suicide bombing. These are shallow assertions with hollow foundations and no proof to back them up. They can, they are and will be used as a motivating factor, but they are just one amongst the hundreds of motivating factors used by militants. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that any suicide bomber has been linked to or a potential bomber that has been apprehended had any acquaintance that died in a drone attack. We challenge the other side to bring forward any news report, intelligence report or a case report that states that the person caught or who carried out the bombing had any relative that died in a drone attack and he was avenging his family members. Most of the times, this assertion is made without any evidence. One of the cited examples is of Faisal Shahzad but that it is unbelievable since his life story as is tells how he was led to the TTP. Baituallah Mehsud once claimed that a suicide attack was in revenge for a particular drone strike but it is unbelievable that he and the group of his monsters wouldn’t have carried it anyway.

The prime reason militants fight and suicide bombers exist is the world view of clash of civilizations, an ideological assertion of one’s one faith over the other’s and the view all military operations conducted by our forces are being conducted on the “behest of the US”, where they view death for their “greater cause” as the ultimate achievement and where life itself remains just a step towards a better eternal life they imagine. They view the state’s involvement in the war on terror, including the Operations in Wana, Tirah, Orakzai, Mohmand, Bajaur, South Warizistan, Operation Silence and Swat as only for “pleasing the US”, as guided by infidels. The drone attacks are an additional factor but in no way the prime motivating factor. The toxic religious dogmas of declaring everybody not cooperating with you as Kafir and liable to death is a major factor, not drones.

The recent survey of public opinion in FATA by the New America Foundation sheds light on the issue. On the issue of drone strikes, overall 1 in 6 thinks they kill only militants and one third believe they kill both civilians and militants. However, among those with greater than 12 years of education, one in three thinks they kill only militants. The youngest age group thinks along the same lines as well. While 70% of the people polled strongly oppose drone strikes and only 1 in 10 lends his/her support to them, among those with greater than 12 years of education, 1 in 4 supports drone strikes.

When it comes to views about targeting US forces, in Mohmand and North Waziristan three in four people think bombing US military forces is justified. A small percentage (1 in 6)  but far higher compared to other areas in South Waziristan thinks that targeting Pakistani civilians is justified as well. The people of Orakzai do not seem to think that targeting Pakistani security forces or civilians or American security forces is justified at all. When it comes to the war itself, the highest support for US led war on terror comes from Bajaur. In contrast, the Afghan Taliban have the highest support in Mohmand. Pakistani Taliban have the support of nearly nearly half of the people polled from NWA.

While some findings contradict that of the Aryana Institue survey – supported by Farhat Taj – we do not feel that the Aryana survey was anymore ethical or better in it’s sampling than this one.

It is time that we form a responsible opinion about drone strikes, formed by statistics and facts and not emotions. All efforts must be undertaken to minimize collateral damage, including better intelligence and careful use of deadly force. There is just a smokescreeen of fake sovereignty that seems to be the main issue of concern to a lot of people. Based on the available facts, the ones not fabricated or distorted, militants have suffered heavily because of this remote targeting technology. Drone strikes are very much precise, based on intelligence that both sides often share and carried out based on mutual agreement and trust. The recent Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC) report recounts tales of some of the victims of drone attacks, hearty wrenching stories of people caught in the line of fire in a war of massive proportions. While the drone victim’s stories have been recounted in newspaper and report mentioned in the media, the tales of the people whose houses were demolished by the military when they razed entire villages or mistook the identity of the person have been avoided. Minimizing collateral damage is necessary, but forming any opinion based on concocted facts that can lead to a pause in the war is self-defeating.

The media group referenced is Jang Group. In April 2009, they published figures that 687 civilians and only 14 Al-Qaeda leaders were killed in the drone attacks. Militants who were not top leaders were lumped up into civilians as usual. These two were erroneous and a large amount of data was the intellectual property of Dr Zeeshan Usmani that they used without giving him credit for.

Data will continue to be updated as the entire data set has not been completed. We will provide a final account of what percentage of PBC data is accurate, including under-counting.

Any omissions and errors on our part are highly regretted and will be corrected upon being pointed out. Certain dates have been adjusted since PBC mostly lists date when event is reported not when it occurs, causing a delay of one day.

2004

June 18. Wana. Nek Muhammad Wazir is killed in a suspected drone strike. PBC lists 1 Al-Qaeda and 4 civilian casualties. Accurate according to reports.

2005

May 14. Toorikhel, NWA. 2 including Al-Qaeda leader Haitham al-Yemeni are killed. PBC does not list strike.

November 30. Asoray, NWA. PBC reports 1 Al-Qaeda and 5 civilian casualties. NYT reports death of High Value Target and 3rd in command of Al-Qaeda Abu Hamza Rabia. No details of collateral damage are provided. Somewhat accurate report.

2006

January 13. Damadola. Al-Qaeda’s second in command, Ayman al-Zwahiri escapes drone strike. Eighteen dead were locals. PBC reports 18 civilians. Accurate.

October 26. Bajaur. Gunship helicopter attack by Pakistan Army (officially claimed although doubt remains) that killed 80 suspected militants is included as a US drone strike by PBC.

November 2. Danday Darphakhel, NWA. Five people are killed. No claims of Al-Qaeda or militant linkages by NYT or CNN. Should be assumed to be civilians. Not reported by PBC.

2007

January 16. Salamat Kelay, NWA. Suspected drone strike kills 20-30 militants according to BBC and Reuters. Locals claim at least 8 were wood-cutters. Being officially opposed to foreign presence in Pakistan, Army spokesman claims it was a Pakistan Army helicopter gunship. PBC lists 30 civlians.

April 28. Danda Saidgai, NWA. Daily Times reports three civilian deaths. Dawn reports four. PBC lists 3 civilian casualties. Accurate.

June 19. Mami Rogha, NWA. PBC lists 20 civilian casualties (date erroneously mentioned as May 20). Reuters lists 32 militant deaths. Army claims it wasn’t an aerial attack but an explosion (denying foreign involvement to save face). Ambiguity over claims.

November 2. Miram Shah. NYT reports 5 militant casualties as attack was on a Haqqani Madrassa. PBC lists 5 civilians.

2008

January 9. Mir Ali. PBC lists 6 civilian casualties. No mention in Af-Pak or any other listing.

January 29. Mir Ali. Al-Qaeda leader and spokesman Abu Laith al-Libi is killed in the strike. BBC reports death of seven Arab and six Central Asian militants. PBC lists 1 Al-Qaeda and 11 civilian casualties.

February 28. Azam Warsak, SWA. Dawn, citing AFP, reports death of 13 Al-Qaeda and Afghan Taliban militants. PBC lists 12 civilian casualties.

March 12. Lwara Mundi, NWA. AFP reports 4 civilian casualties. PBC does not list strike.

March 16. Dhook Pir Bagh, SWA. AFP and Telegraph report 16 militant casualties. Ambiguity whether they were militants. PBC lists 16 civilian casualties (erroneous date of March 19). Accurate.

May 14. Damadola. PBC lists 1 Al-Qaeda and 11 civilian casualties. High Value Target Abu Sulayman Jazairi is killed. Lack of claim over rest of the people should allow ambiguity. Accurate to a certain extent.

June 13. Makeen, SWA. Geo reports casualty of one person after drone was fired at with a RPG. Ambiguity over claim whether casualty was a militant or civilian. Not listed by PBC.

July 28. Azam Warsak, SWA. Abu Khabab Al Masri is killed alongwith 3 other militants. 3 civilian deaths reported as well. Reuters reports 5 Al-Qaeda militant deaths. PBC lists 1 Al-Qaeda and 5 civilian casualties.

August 6. PBC lists 13 civilian casualties in NWA. No link/source provided as usual. Possible August 12 drone strike listed on a Vietnamese news archive. Af-Pak does not list.

August 13. Bhagar/Angor Adda, SWA. 9-25 militants including commander Abdul Rehman and Islam Wazir. Geo reports death of three Turk and several Arab militants as well. PBC lists 22 civilian casualties.

August 20. Wana. 8 militants killed according to AFP. PBC does not report event (there is a August 28, 4 civilian injuries listing for Gangikhel that does not correlate with any other archive).

August 30. Korzai, SWA. Daily Times reports five militant deaths possibly including two foreigners.

August 31. Rappi, NWA. Geo reports death of 6 including a women and a child. PBC lists same. Accurate.

September 4. Chaar Khel, NWA. Dawn lists death of 10 militants including Al-Qaeda leader Abu Wafa Al Saudi.  Possibly 4 civilian casualties.

September 5. Goroverk, NWA. Geo reports deaths of 7 including 4 children.  PBC lists 6 civilian casualties on September 5 and another 6 for September 6. September 4 strike has a Qaeda leader and militants amongst dead. Error in one report at least.

September 8. Danday Darpakhel. PBC reports 23 civilian casualties. CNN reports death of Al-Qaeda’s Pakistan chief Abu Haris and another three Arab fighters amongst 25.

September 12. Tol Khel, NWA. AFP reports 12 Al-Badr militant casualties. Dawn lists casualties as associated with Qari Imam group. PBC lists 12 civilians.

September 17. Baghar Cheena, SWA. Al-Qaeda leader Abu Ubaydah Al-Tunisi an 5 other operatives are killed. PBC lists 7 civilians.

October 1. Khushali Toorikhel, NWA. Geo reports 4 casualties possibly militants who fired at the drone. PBC lists 6 civilian casualties.

October 3. Datta Khel, NWA. Two strikes (one possibly jets not drones) kill 21 militants including 16 foreigners according to Geo and another four in the jet/drone strike according to Reuters (identity ambiguous). PBC lists 18 civilians.

October 9. Reuters reports deaths of 6 militants including three Arabs. PBC lists 9 civilians.

October 11. Miramshah. Geo reports 5 casualties. AFP reports target was a Qaeda/Taliban meeting. Ambiguous reports whether dead were militants. PBC lists 5 civilians. Accurate.

October 16. Taparghai, SWA. NYT and CNN report Al-Qaeda leader Khalid Habib and 4 other casualties, possibly civilian or Arab. PBC lists 2 Al-Qaeda and 4 civilian casualties.

October 22. Danda Darpa Khel, NWA. NYT reports 4 civilian casualties. Reuters reports “scores”. PBC lists 10 civilians.

October 26. Shakai, SWA. CNN reports 7 and Geo reports 8 casualties. Ambiguity over claims over militants. PBC lists 20 civilians casualties.

October 31. Wana and Mir Ali. Geo reports 6 militants, all foreigners killed in Wana strike. BBC reports 20 including an al-Qaeda leaders Abu Akash and Abu Jihad Al-Masri in Mir Ali strike/ PBC lists 2 Al-Qaeda and 13 civilian casualties as one.

November 7. Kumsham, NWA. AFP reports 11-14 militants, mostly foreigners being killed. PBC lists 1 Al-Qaeda and 12 civilian casualties.

November 14. Garyom, NWA. Geo reports 11 casualties. No claims they were militants. Reuters says 5 were foreigners. PBC lists 12 civilians.

November 19. Bannu. Al-Qaeda leader Abdullah Azzam al Saudi is killed. CNN reports local confirming three foreigners being killed. Reuters reports. PBC does not list strike.

November 22. Ali Khel, NWA. Al-Qaeda leader Abu Zubair Al-Masri and terrorist at large Rashid Rauf alongwith 3 others killed. PBC lists 1 Al-Qaeda and 4 civilians.

November 29. Chashma, NWA. CNN reports 3 casualties. No claims they were civilians. PBC lists 3 civilians. Accurate.

December 6. PBC lists 3 civilian casualties in Mir Ali Strike. Express News reports 6 as militants.

December 11. Azam Warsak, SWA. Reuters reports 7 militant casualties, possibly foreigners as well (Geo reports 3 foreigners). PBC lists 12 civilian casualties.

December 15. Miramshah, NWA. Geo reports 3 casualties. PBC lists 2 civilian casualties.

December 22. Karikot, SWA. ToI and VoA report 8 militant casualties. PBC lists 7 civilians.

2009

January 1. Karikot, SWA. PBC report 2 Al-Qaeda and 2 civilian casualties. Al-Qaed’s chief in Pakistan, Osama al Kini and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan are killed. The Nation reports 5 Taliban deaths.

January 2. Laddha, SWA. Geo reports 4 casualties. No claims they were militants. PBC lists 1 Al-Qaeda and 4 civilian casualties. Inaccurate about Qaeda death.

January 23. Mir Ali, SWA and Zera, NWA. 20 militants, including four foreigners are killed according to Geo. Washington Post reports 10 insurgent casualties. PBC lists 13 civilian deaths.

February 14. Laddha, SWA. Daily Times reports 28 militant casualties including two Arabs, several Uzbeks. Paper quotes Taliban spokesman as accepting 28 were “mujahideen”. PBC lists 30 civilian casualties.

February 16. Sur Pul, Kurram. This paper reports 30 casualties. Attack targeted an Afghan refugee camp, specifically meeting of Taliban. PBC lists 30 civilian casualties. Ambiguity over claims of being militants. Somewhat accurate.

March 1. Sararogha, SWA. NYT reports death of 8 militants. This paper reports 5 Taliban casualties.  PBC lists 12 civilian casualties.

March 12. Barjo, Kurram. Dawn reports 25 casualties. Conflicting reports as it cites a security official stating some injured were foreign militants but rest were locals. PBC lists 14 civilian casualties. Somewhat accurate (should have listed more civilians).

March 15. Jani Khel, Bannu.Target is local militant commander Taj Ali Khan according to NYT. BBC quotes a local saying all were militants, including two Arabs. PBC lists 5 civilian casualties.

March 25. Makeen, SWA. Dawn reports death of 7 Arab militants in an attack on a vehicle. Tis paper reports eight Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives. PBC lists 7 civilian casualties.

March 25. Esokhel, NWA. AFP reports 4 casualties and that target was local pro-militant elder Malik Ghulab Khan. PBC lists 4 civilian casualties. Ambiguity over affiliation of the dead. Somewhat accurate.

April 1. Drone Strike in Khadezai, Orakzai. PBC reports 12 civlian deaths. Dawn and a host of international news agencies report 12-14 militant deaths.

April 4. Miramshah. PBC tells us 13 civilians died. Geo TV report says 3 foreigners amongst dead. Reuters and AFP report anywhere between 4 and 10 militants killed. Ambiguosness is reported as civilian casualty because of some unknown reason.

April 8. Gangikhel, SWA. Four militants who opened fire at a low flying drone killed. Reported by Reuters, Dawn and Geo. PBC lists all four as civilians.

April 19. Gangikhel, SWA. PBC lists 3 civilian casualties. International wire agencies report suspected militants.

April 29. Kani Garam, SWA. Dawn reports 6 militants including 2 foreigners dead in drone strike. All six listed as civilians in PBC data.

May 9. Sararogha. Daily Times reports anywhere between 5 to 10 Taliban militants dead. 10 civlian casualties in PBC data.

May 12. Sra Khawra, SWA. Dawn and a host of international wires report 6-9 militants possibly Al-Qaeda killed. PBC lists 8 civilian casualties.

May 16. Khesoor, NWA.  PBC lists 2 Al-Qaeda and 23 civilian casualties. Target assumed to be a seminary may have killed upto 23 Al-Qaeda militants according to NYT. Al-Jazeera reports 10 militants including 2 Arabs. This paper reported 25-28 local militants leaving for fighting in Afghanistan.

June 14. Laddah, SWA. Dawn reports 3 Taliban killed in their vehicle. International agencies report 5. PBC lists 5 civilians.

June 18. Shah Alam, SWA. PBC lists 11 civilian deaths. This paper report 12 Taliban casualties and Al Jazeera reports five deaths targeting house of militant commander Malang Wazir.

June 23. Makeen, SWA. Two drones strikes in one day including one on the funeral of Niaz Wali kills 51 Taliban according to Daily Times. Other reports list anywhere between 45 and 83. Dr Usmani’s data shows a total of 91 civilians and only 6 Al-Qaeda deaths.

July 8. Laddah. Two strikes leave 45 militants dead according to Dawn. Geo reports convoy of militants’ vehicles being targeted. PBC reports 50 civilian casualties.

October 24. Damma Dola. Daily Times report 22 terrorists being killed in a drone strike. Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir left minuted before strike. PBC lists 18 civilian casualties.

December 8. Aspala, NWA. 2-3 militants including Al-Qaeda leader Saleh al-Somali are kiilled. PBC does not list this strike.

Decemeber 17. Datta Khel. 10-15 militants including Al-Qaeda leader Zuhaib al-Zahibi. PBC reports 17 civilians.

December 31. Machhikhel. Dawn reports six including three militants who security officials suggested maybe Al-Qaeda. Geo reports three militant casualties. PBC lists 33 civilian casualties.

2010

Januray 1, Ghundikala village, NWA-  DAWN reports that three militants in a vehicle were killed. PBC claims three death of three civilians quoting the news story from BBC Urdu which does not make any claim regarding the identity of those killed.

Januray 3, residential compound of Jehan Roze in Mosaki village of Mirali tehsil, NWA, destroying its guesthouse. DAWN reprots five killed, three of them Arabs. According to AFP:“There may have been an important figure hiding in the house,” a security official in Miramshah said. “Five militants have been killed Two are local and three are foreigners. One among the foreigners is an Arab”. PBC reports 5 civilian deaths.

January 6, NY times reports 20 to 25 dead in  two strikes in NWA. DAWN reports that 17 were dead in an attack on a militants training camp(fort). “It was a huge, fort-like mud-house. They were using it as a training centre and the training centre belonged to Hafiz Gul Bahadur,” a Pakistani intelligence official said. PBC claims 20 civilian deaths.

January 8, Tappi Village NWA, kills 5. PBC reports 5 civilians. Accurate

January 9, Ismail Khan village NWA, PBC claims that 4 civilians were killed and two injured. Associated Press (Washington Times January 14, 2010, p. 7) reports that  Mahmoud Mahdi Zeidan, bodyguard for al Qaeda leaderSayeed al-Masri, was reported killed in either the January 8 or 9 airstrike. LA Times claims that Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim who was allegedly involved in hijacking ofPan Am Flight 73 in 1986 was also reported killed in this strike.

January 13, Pasalkot village, NWA. DAWN reports 12 dead in attack on militant hideout in Skaktoi area, SWA adjacent to North Waziristan. Reports rumours that Hamik ullah Mehsud was target and the rumours that he died in the attack. PBC reports 15 civilian deaths.

January 15. Zanini, NWA and Shaktoi. 7-12 militants killed including militant commander Azmatuallah Muawiya as per reports from Dawn, AP and Reuters. PBC lists 22 civilians casualties.

January 16/17, Shakoi, NWA, PBC claims 22 civilians dead and 12 injured. BBC Urdu reports 15 militants killed in the attack.

January 29, Mohammad Khel, NWA. DAWN reports that 9 militants were killed when three missiles hit a compund and a bunker. NY Times reports 15 killed including four Arab and two ethnic Uzbek fighters were killed, along with local militants. PBC reports 6 civilians dead.

February 2. Geo reports target was a militant compound and Dawn reports 16 militant casualties. PBC lists 29 civilian deaths.

February 14, Mir Ali, NWA,.DAWN reports 4 foreigners (reportedly Uzbek) and three militants killed. Compund was used for training insurgents. Reuters claim 5 deaths. CNN reports 6 dead.  PBC does not mention the attack.

Februar 15, Miram Shah, NWA. Geo reports AlQaeda linked leader Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, leader of a group called the Turkistani Islamic Party killed. DAwn reports him being killed among three militants. PBC claims four civilian deaths and 1 civilian injured. Quotes Express (Urdu newspaper) story as reference.

February 17, Tappi, NWA. DAWN reports  top al-Qaeda leader of Egyptian origin Sheikh Mansoor killed. Geo reports 4 killed. PBC claims 4 civilains dead and 2 injured

February 18, Dandey Darpa Khel, near Miram Shah, NWA. DAWn reports son of Jalaluddin Haqqani was killed among three other militants. PBC lists 4 civilian deaths and 5 civilians wounded.

February 24. Dargi Mandi, 2.5 miles north of Miram Shah, North Waziristan. Mohammad Qari Zafar killed. PBC lists 13 civilians dead and 10 injured.

May 11. Datta Khel and Gorwek, NWA. Geo reports 24 militant casualties, NYT reports 14 in two strikes. PBC lists 30 civilians.

June 19. Enzer Kali, NWA. PBC lists 1 Al-Qaeda and 15 civilian casualties. Dawn, The News and all major news sources report at least 16 militants including Al-Qaeda leader Abu Ahmed Tarkash.

June 29. Karikot. Drone strike on house of local commander Halimullah leaves 6 dead as per international news wire reports.  PBC reports only 1 Al-Qaeda dn 9 civilian casualties.

September 3. Two drone strikes kill 12-15 militants. Dawn reports 6 local militants being killed in first strike. Samaa reports death of Taliban commander Inayatllah in second strike. PBC reports 13 civilian deaths.