US Drone Kills 31 in Pakistan Strike

(NEWSER) - Pakistani officials have confirmed the death of Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban leader, in an American drone strike early Wednesday. While there is still no concrete evidence of his death, the country's foreign minister said today that "he has been taken out." One security official told the New York Times that Mehsud has already been buried. Pakistani media are reporting that senior Taliban leaders are meeting to choose his successor. More»

Missile strikes evaluated as part of regional policy review

(NEWSER) - As the US reviews its controversial air strike program in Pakistan, US and Pakistani intelligence officials are adding new targets to its list, the Wall Street Journal reports. Pakistani officials hope that expanding the drone program to target extremists will win them public support; at the same time, the Obama administration is weighing the program’s success against its risk of stoking public anger and weakening the government. More»

Islamabad complains that drone strikes help Taliban

(NEWSER) - An American drone attack today killed at least eight militants in a Pakistani tribal area, Reuters reports. "There are 'guests' among the dead," an anonymous intelligence official says, referring to non-Pakistani militants. The missile assault struck either a house or a bunker in South Waziristan, a Pakistani Taliban bastion near the Afghan border. More»

But attacks are cutting fighters' global abilities

(NEWSER) - US drone strikes are heightening al-Qaeda’s threat to Pakistan, even as the attacks hurt the organization's ability to coordinate on a global scale, Pakistani officials say. The strikes have helped decentralize the group, but pockets focused on local jihad are fighting back. The officials also worry that an upcoming US troop surge in Afghanistan could drive more Qaeda fighters into Pakistan, the New York Times reports. More»

Attack mounts pressure for government to act

(NEWSER) - An unmanned US drone is suspected of firing two missiles in Pakistan that killed seven people, the BBC reports. Taliban were seen pulling bodies from a fort-like house afterward as tribesmen fired at the aircraft. Since August, American-operated drones have launched more than 20 missiles in the tribal areas near Afghanistan, placing public pressure on Pakistan's government to defend its sovereignty. More»