Drone strikes Pakistan and killed at least seven Islamist fighters who were situated in the remote region of North Waziristan on Friday. According to Pakistan's military, security forces ambushed "a large assembly of terrorists" killing at least 16 of their people and injuring 20 others.
A brief military statement that was issued on Saturday mentioned that there was an "intense battle" that happened overnight in the territory that separated the Orakzai and Khyber tribal districts. The statement also said that at least four soldiers were wounded.
Earlier that day, officials stated that two drone strikes Pakistan, which they suspect came from the United States, killed at least seven Islamist fighters. Those strikes were then followed by Pakistani air strikes late Friday, targeting the areas of Taliban and Uzbek militants near the Afghan border. The army referred to their retaliation as "very effective and precise aerial strikes" that killed off at least 39 militants.
These recent North Waziristan drone strikes Pakistan happened as the country continues to ramp up its anti-terror strategy after the December 16 Pakistani Taliban attack. The attack took place in an army-run school located in Peshawar, killing almost 150 people, majority of whom were young children.
The massacre of 134 children and 16 faculty members compelled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to reinstate the death penalty only a couple of days after the attack happened. Since the announcement, authorities have hanged six "hard-core terrorists" whom they have convicted of previous terrorism charges. There are plans to execute hundreds more.
Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations told Sharif on Friday that they must stop with the executions and re-impose the nation's moratorium on the death penalty.
Drone strikes Pakistan have actually been largely unpopular in the country. Many consider them as a violation of the nation's sovereignty. However, the United States strongly insists that the attacks are very effective when it comes to eliminating militants in the areas that are not easily accessible to the Pakistani military force.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
