Drones in slumber after Davis incident

[Xeric]

By Usman Manzoor

ISLAMABAD: Whether it is a deliberate US policy or a mere pleasant coincidence but not a single drone attack has hit the country since January 27, when the American killer Raymond Davis was arrested in Lahore after he killed two young men.

The last attack was carried out on January 23 and so far over 2,000 people have been killed in such attacks since 2004.

The American Embassy spokesperson, Courtney Beale when contacted said that the embassy does not speak on security issues therefore she did not have any comment on the drone attacks’ stoppage after the Davis issue.

The Conflict Monitoring Centre, an independent research centre which monitors the drone attacks, confirmed that there have been no drone attacks since Raymond Davis was arrested. According to the CMC report there were 11 drone attacks reported during January 2011, killing 49 people.

At least 10 people were also wounded in these attacks. All the drone attacks were carried out in North Waziristan Agency of the Fata. No significant militant casualty was reported during the month.

January had otherwise been a busy month for the drones as five attacks were carried out.

The New Years day was the deadliest as the dawn of 2011 brought death for 19 people while ten people sustained injuries. The attack targeted a house while the second struck the rescue workers on the spot. Two other drone attacks separately hit two vehicles in the area.

January 23 was the second deadliest day of the month when 13 people were killed in three different drone attacks. In the first and second strike, a drone hit a vehicle and a motorcycle, respectively. In another strike, an alleged militant compound and a vehicle were targeted.

Drones in slumber after Davis incident