 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Drone missile strikes kill 16 militants in Afghanistan: NATO
Kabul (AFP) Jan 12, 2010 Missiles fired from drone aircraft have killed 16 militants in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led force said Tuesday, in a rare attack in Afghanistan using the controversial unmanned planes. A drone was launched after troops observed large numbers of insurgents preparing a strike in the southern province of Helmand's Naw Zad district on Monday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. "An unmanned aerial vehicle launched one Hellfire missile killing 13 insurgents," the force said. Three other insurgents who "took up previously used firing positions" were also killed in a separate drone strike Monday in the Nad Ali district of Helmand, the heartland of the Taliban-led insurgency, the statement added. Coalition forces rarely use drones in their operations against the Taliban and other insurgents battling the government in Afghanistan. Bombings by unmanned aircraft are, however, common in neighbouring Pakistan, and are a key plank of US strategy to target militants who hide out in the lawless northwest border region then cross into Afghanistan to stage attacks. Six US strikes have hit the district of North Waziristan already this year. The drone programme is deeply controversial in Pakistan and fuels anti-American sentiment in the Muslim nation, but US officials say they are necessary to protect the foreign troops in neighbouring Afghanistan. There are more than 113,000 international forces based in Afghanistan fighting an increasingly deadly insurgency which is aimed at toppling the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links UAV News - Suppliers and Technology
US drone war delivers results, but at what price?Islamabad (AFP) Jan 10, 2010 The US drone war in Pakistan has made gains in annihilating Taliban and Al-Qaeda commanders, but the reliance on the unmanned, remotely controlled aircraft risks fanning Islamist violence. While tens of thousands of US troops are fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, their presence is unwelcome in ally Pakistan and drone strikes have become the main combat tactic against militants on the ground. The Long War Journal, a website tracking the strikes, says US missiles have killed 15 senior Al-Qaeda leaders, and 16 "mid-level" Al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives, since January 2008. ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook