Sailab Mahsud
April 27, 2017: On Wednesday, at least seven terrorists were killed in the US drone strike carried out at about 2pm in Shankai Narai area of North Waziristan Agency. The targeted militants belonged to the proscribed terrorist outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). No civilian casualties have been reported so far.
This is the second drone attack to have occurred in tribal areas of Pakistan in 2017. Earlier this year, a similar drone strike was carried out along the Pak Afghan border in Ahmadi Shaman area of Kurram Agency which left two terrorists dead. The US security forces often employ unmanned aerial vehicles to target militant hideouts, not only in Afghanistan but in militancy-prone border areas of Pakistan as well.
It is pertinent to mention here that North Waziristan Agency witnessed a downward trend in violence during 2017 which is indicative of the success of operation Zarb-e-Azab launched by security forces in the agency. Moreover, security forces are persistently carrying out their operations in order to countervail the militants’ incursions in the agency. Earlier on February 19, Pakistani security forces carried out an aerial strike in Wucha Bibi area of the agency leaving ten terrorists dead, who were endeavoring to regroup their cadres in the agency.
