Two suspected drone attacks in the tribal areas of Pakistan killed at least 45 people, including three top Taliban commanders according to Pakistani intelligence sources. The first missile attack hit what authorities said was a “Taliban training center.” The Pakistani government officially and publicly objects to strikes within its territory and have denied that drone attacks are taking place. The US denies involvement. From Al Jazeera:
Asked by Al Jazeera to comment on Tuesday’s reported attacks, the Pentagon denied any US involvement. “There are no US military strike operations being conducted in Pakistan,” a statement said.
Watch an excerpt from Between Frontiers as Dan Markey, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations discusses why these drone attacks are necessary and why they must be done clandestinely.
Javier Barrera Pakistan, Tribal Areas
After 7 months of captivity, New York Times reporter David Rohde escaped from his captors in North Waziristan in the mountainous tribal regions of Pakistan. He was abducted with a local reporter, Tahir Ludin and their driver on November 10th. Their nighttime escape plan had been in the works for weeks and included jumping from a 20-foot wall with a rope. From The New York Times:
On Friday evening, in a planned bid to keep their captors awake as late as possible to ensure that the men would eventually sleep soundly, Mr. Ludin challenged the militants who slept beside them in the same room to a local board game.
When at last the games ended at midnight, the journalists waited for the militants to fall asleep.
At 1 a.m., Mr. Rohde woke Mr. Ludin and sneaked out of the room. Mr. Ludin recited several verses of the Koran and followed him. They made their way to the second floor, and Mr. Ludin got to the top of a five-foot-high wall.
When Mr. Ludin looked down, he said, he was greeted by an unnerving view: a 20-foot drop. (Read the continuation of this story…)
For a bird’s eye view of the area, AAM’s Sean Carberry captured some video of the mountainous border region which confirms the treacherous and desolate landscape while reporting for Terror, Tribes and the Taliban.
Javier Barrera Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tribal Areas