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| CNN (stating what is probably the most obvious headline ever broadcast) Parachinar, is the capital of Kurram Agency, FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) of Pakistan. It is about 290 km west of the capital, Islamabad. It is situated on a neck of Pakistani territory south of Peshawar, that juts into Paktia Province in Afghanistan and is the closest point in Pakistan to Kabul and borders on the Tora Bora region in Afghanistan. In 2009 it was alleged to be the hiding place of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. |
As the floods in Pakistan stopped many locals and insurgents from travelling on the washed out pathways the American government used this time to increase the drone attacks. The focus on North Waziristan is a good indicator where the CIA and other intel groups think top al Queda and Taliban leadership is in hiding.
Osama bin Laden seems to be in this area and over the next few months we will probably keep seeing these types of drone attacks.
Estimated Total Deaths from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011
| Deaths (low) | Deaths (high) | |
| 2011* | 15 | 18 |
| 2010 | 591 | 985 |
| 2009 | 413 | 709 |
| 2008 | 263 | 296 |
| 2004-2007 | 86 | 109 |
| Total | 1,372 | 2,125 |
*Through January 1, 2011
Estimated Militant Deaths from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan 2004 - 2011
| Deaths (low) | Deaths (high) | |
| 2011* | 15 | 18 |
| 2010 | 569 | 927 |
| 2009 | 293 | 405 |
| 2008 | 106 | 134 |
| 2004-2007 | 78 | 100 |
| Total | 1,061 | 1,584 |
*Through January 1, 2011
Estimated Militant Leader Deaths from US Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2011
| 2011 | -- |
| 2010 | 12 |
| 2009 | 10 |
| 2008 | 11 |
| 2004-2007 | 3 |
| Total | 36 |
*Through January 1, 2011. Included in estimated militants and estimated totals, above.
Militant leaders killed
Militant leaders killed
2010 (12)
- December 17, 2010: Ibne Amin, al-Qaeda linked Swat Taliban commander (The News)
- March 8, 2010: Sadam Hussein Al Hussami, also known as Ghazwan Al-Yemeni, al-Qaeda planner and explosives expert with contacts in AQAP and Afghan and Pakistani Taliban (AP)
- February 24, 2010: Mohammad Qari Zafar, Taliban commander wanted in 2006 Karachi consulate bombing
- February 17, 2010: Sheikh Mansoor, Egyptian-Canadian al-Qaeda leader
- February 15, 2010: Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, al-Qaeda linked leader of a group called the Turkistani Islamic Party
- January 9, 2010: Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, wanted for his alleged role in the 1986 hijacking of Pan American World Airways flight during a stop in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi (BBC, AP, Asian Tribune) [Author note: BBC says he “died” on Jan. 9, AP says he was killed by a drone on Jan. 9, and Asian Tribune says he died in the strike on Ismail Khel, which happened on Jan. 10 as per AFP, AP, CNN, Dawn, Times of India, and Geo.]
- Early January, 2010: Mahmud Mahdi Zeidan, Jordanian Taliban commander, bodyguard of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid
Strikes by Target
| Target | 2004-2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | Total |
| Taliban | 6 | 14 | 24 | 42 | 2 | 88 |
| Baitullah Mehsud (not Taliban generally) | 0 | 1 | 16 | n/a | n/a | 17 |
| Al Qaeda | 5 | 11 | 10** | 8 | 0 | 34 |
| Haqqani | 1 | 9 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 30 |
| Unclear/Other | 0 | 4 | 4 | 68 | 1 | 77 |
*Count is more than the number of strikes in some cases because some targets fell into multiple categories.
**Saad bin Laden, one of Osama bin Laden’s sons, was reported killed by a drone in 2009 sometime before July 22, 2009, but it’s unknown exactly when, so he is included in the targeting as al Qaeda but not in one of the individual entries in 2009. [Author note: Saad bin Laden was reported alive in December 2009 by his brother, Omar.]
This study carries a Creative Commons license, which permits re-use of New America content when proper attribution is provided. Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann's drones database at the New America Foundation.
http://counterterrorism.newamerica.net/drones
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