As per local media source on May 14th, there was a drone strike in Tangi Badinzai, Upper South Waziristan, in which five members of the a family were killed. Banot Khan, his wife, one son, and two daughters were among the victims.
As local media and activist term it drone strike, official source claim it was an explosion in a house in Tangi Badinzai area of Ladha, Upper South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. An Official told to the news media that “Our initial investigation shows that it was an IED explosion inside the house”. Official further added that terrorists were preparing explosives in the house.
Why Local term it drone strike?
Local contradict the statement from official “area was infested with militant’s and there is an IED explosion inside a house”. As per local activist, official covered up this drone attack matter with IED blast.
The official hasn’t shown any footage of the militant’s killed in the IED blast. Meanwhile, locals have shared footage and details of the victims targeted in the possible drone strike, named as follows:
- Banut Khan
- Wife of Banut Khan
- Shazeeb Khan, age 17, son
- Uzma Bibi, age 13, daughter
- Rajma Bibi, age 4, daughter
Local media and activists are showing the wreckage of the drone attack in the Tangi Badinzai area and claiming that innocent civilians, with no known links to insurgents, have been victims.
Local put the bodies of victims on a road near a military camp in south Waziristan, protesting the killings and demanded justice for the victims.
Alamzeb Wazir shared on X, formerly known as Twitter that
“this was a drone attack, last year too, drone attack was declared as a mortar attack.”
Furthermore, he wrote that the family, who were killed in the drone attack, had just returned to their village, Tangi Badinzai, from Tank yesterday.
Farmers senator Afrasiab khattak term it drone atteck while posting on X, formely known as Twitter
“It is a drone strike, the obfuscation by the Pakistani official notwithstanding. But is it a ‘over the horizon strike’ or a strike from a not too distant base?” he added
Mohsin Dawar, the Ex MNA and chairman of the National Democratic Movement, wrote on his X/Twitter account while condemned the drone strike
“We strongly condemn this senseless act of violence. Was it a US Drone or a Pakistani Drone? The state must come clean about the fact of this incident.”
A history of collateral deaths from the drone strikes in Waziristan
There has been a long history of CIA’s nine-year drone strikes campaign in Pakistan. Between 2004 and 2018, the US, with the help of federal government, carried out around 400 drone attacks in the tribal belt, leading to hundreds of innocent civilian casualties and fuelled anti-state sentiment in the region.
Last year in March 2023 a drone strike in Zangara, South Waziristan was also reported which lead to the death of 2 children’s, while military denies the drone attack called it military operation.
Such drone strikes in the tribal region lead to the death of innocent civilians unfortunately didn’t properly investigated, nor did it find space in the national media.
Remember Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been once again in the grip of terrorism and insurgency since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. Few days ago, unidentified people have blown up a girl’s school with explosives in Tehsil Sheva. No casualties were reported. Half of the school has collapsed.
Read Here: Girls’ education is under threat from militants in the tribal belt
Similarly, in a military operation in Mir Ali area of Khadri, a girls madrassa was hit with rocket launchers and mortar shells. As per local news report, three students, aged approximately 13, 14, and 15 were seriously got injured.