The remains of a house destroyed in a CIA drone strike in Waziristan, April 2009 (Noor Behram)
As part of its ongoing investigation into the US covert war the Bureau has examined thousands of credible media reports relating to more than 310 Central Intelligence Agency drone strikes in Pakistan.
These incidents were reported by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, CNN, ABC News, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, the BBC, Al Jazeera, and reputable Pakistani media (see bottom table).
CIA drone strikes tend to be reported on a case-by-case basis. Yet it became clear to the Bureau that a number of specific tactics were being deployed. These included multiple attacks by drones on rescuers attempting to aid victims of previous strikes. There were also a number of credible reports of funerals and mourners being attacked by CIA drones.
With the aid of Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai in Peshawar, the Bureau has spent four months working with independent researchers in Waziristan seeking to validate the reports. Villagers, militants and local officials have been questioned, and attempts made to identify those killed in the strikes.
Findings
The results provide independent verification of the tactics reported. Of the 18 attacks on rescuers and mourners reported at the time by credible media, twelve cases have been independently confirmed by our researchers. In each case civilians are reported killed, and where possible we have named them.
| Strike Date | Location | Bureau’s Summary Findings |
| 16/5/09 | Khesoor North Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Nine civilian rescuers reported killed – six named as Sabir, Ikram, Mohib, Zahid, Mashal and Syed Noor, all from the Utmanzai Wazir tribe. Four Taliban rescuers also died. |
| 18/6/09 | Wana, South Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Four civilian rescuers reported killed, named as Jehanzeb, Liaqat, Daraz and Sabil. Three Taliban rescuers also died. |
| 23/6/09 | Miram Shah, North Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Supportive evidence. Between 18 and 45 civilians reported killed among up to 83 fatalities in strike on funeral. |
| 17/12/09 | Degan, North Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Eyewitness testimony. Six civilian rescuers reported killed, five named as Bashirullah, Amir Khan, Shairullah, Abidullah and Fazle Rabbi, all of the Dawar tribe. |
| 18/12/09 | Degan, North Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Five civilian funeral prayer-goers reported killed, four named as Syed Noor, Shakirullah, Banaras and Fayyaz. |
| 6/1/10 | Datta Khel North Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Five civilian rescuers reported killed, four named as Khalid, Matiullah, Kashif, Zaman and Waqar, all of the Utmanzai Wazir tribe. No Taliban rescuers were reported killed. |
| 2/2/10 | Pai Khel North Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Five civilian rescuers killed, named as Noor Janan, Farhad, Samad, Salam and Baseer. Four Taliban rescuers also died. |
| 10/3/10 | Datta Khel | Attack confirmed. Four civilian rescuers killed, named as Gulzar, Shamim, Majan and Sarwar. Two Taliban rescuers reported to have died. |
| 16/4/10 | Toor Khel North Waziristan | No confirmation. According to researchers no rescuers were killed. |
| 15/9/10 | Danda Darpakhel, North Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Eyewitness testimony. Five civilian rescuers of the Dawar tribe reported killed, named as Yahya, Samin, Niamatullah, Shahzad and Ilyas. Three Taliban rescuers also reported killed. |
| 20/9/10 | Darazinda North Waziristan | No confirmation – researchers could find no evidence of rescuers killed. |
| 22/9/10 | Azam Warsak, South Waziristan | Unconfirmed. |
| 13/10/10 | Datta Khel | Attack confirmed. Three civilian rescuers killed – named as Bashir, Wajid and Laiq – along with five Taliban rescuers. |
| 28/12/10 | Ghulam Khan, North Waziristan | Attack confirmed. Two civilian rescuers reported killed, named as Jamil and Mustafa. No Taliban rescuers were reported among the dead. |
| 28/12/10 | Ghulam Khan | Eyewitness testimony. Not an attack on rescuers or civilians, according to researchers. Only militants died. |
| 1/1/11 | Mandi Khel North Waziristan | No rescuers killed, according to researchers. |
| 11/3/11 | Khesoor | Attack confirmed. Five civilian rescuers reported killed, named as Noor Gul, Jaffar, Faraz, Musa and Kamal. Five Taliban rescuers also reported killed. |
| 20/6/11 | Khardand, Kurram Agency | Although all of those killed were reportedly civilians, no rescuers were targeted in the attack. |
| 12/7/11 | Dray Nashtar, North Waziristan | Although not reported at the time by media, researchers claim that four civilian rescuers – named as Shabbir, Kalam, Waqas and Bashir died in the attack. |
In six of the original cases the Bureau cannot confirm that rescuers and funeral-goers have been killed. So while, for example, all of those killed on June 20 this year were reported to be civilians, no evidence was found in the field that rescuers were involved. On other occasions, according to our researchers, only militants died and no rescuers were involved.
The Bureau’s researchers also identified one attack on rescuers, which had not been reported. They were told it took place on July 7, 2011 – which would make it the last known CIA attack on rescuers.
According to villagers in Waziristan, rescuers were also attacked on nine further occasions beginning on March 15 2008. The Bureau is continuing to work with its researchers to obtain further information and validation relating to these additional drone strikes, which are not included in the present data.
Locals offer funeral prayers for the victims of a drone strike in Miranshah, North Waziristan February 15, 2009 (Getty Images)
Original claims of attacks on rescuers and funeral-goers as reported by leading media.
| Strike Date | Location | Alleged Target | Reported by |
| 16/5/09 | Khesoor, North Waziristan | Rescuers at housing compound | The News |
| 18/6/09 | Wana, South Waziristan | Rescuers at alleged Taliban compound | New York Times, AFP |
| 23/6/09 | Miram Shah, North Waziristan | Funeral-goers | AFP, New York Times, London Times (paywall) |
| 17/12/09 | Degan, North Waziristan | Rescuers at a house | CNN |
| 18/12/09 | Degan, North Waziristan | Funeral prayers for victims of previous strike | Daily Times |
| 6/1/10 | Datta Khel North Waziristan | Rescuers at alleged militant compound | AFP, CNN, Al Jazeera, Pajhwok (Afghan news agency) |
| 2/2/10 | Pai Khel North Waziristan | Possible rescuers in two vehicles | New York Times |
| 10/3/10 | Datta Khel | Rescuers at alleged militant compound | The News, Al Jazeera |
| 16/4/10 | Toor Khel North Waziristan | Rescuers at car | AFP |
| 15/9/10 | Darga Mandi North Waziristan | Rescuers at housing compounds | Pakistan Tribune |
| 20/9/10 | Darazinda North Waziristan | Rescuers at motorbike | AFP |
| 22/9/10 | Azam Warsak, South Waziristan | Funeral prayers for victims of previous strike (confused reports) | Al Jazeera |
| 13/10/10 | Datta Khel | Rescuers at house and car | Associated Press |
| 28/12/10 | Ghulam Khan, North Waziristan | Rescuers at compound after they waited three hours | CNN, ABC News, Al Jazeera |
| 28/12/10 | Ghulam Khan | Vehicle with wounded | Dawn |
| 1/1/11 | Mandi Khel North Waziristan | Rescuers at compound after they waited two hours | Associated Press, Al Jazeera |
| 11/3/11 | Khesoor | Rescuers at vehicle | AFP, Dawn, Pakistan Observer |
| 20/6/11 | Khardand, Kurram Agency | Rescuers at car | Associated Press |
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February 6th, 2012 at 11:33 am (#)
Whilst TBIJ is doing excellent work, it is needlessly reducing its credibility by its choice of legal experts in these reports on drone strikes. The accompanying news story to this data cited an expert who assumed without giving reasons that there was not an armed conflict going on. Actually, given that the Taliban is an organised armed group and fighting is pretty intense between the Taliban and Pakistani forces, it is overwhelmingly likely that the Taliban-Pakistan fighting does qualify under international law as an armed conflict, and Wikileaks suggests that in many of these operations, Pakistan actually asked the US to help it fight the Taliban.
Given that an attack on a funeral would be an obvious violation of principles of distinction and proportionality even in an armed conflict, citing an expert who makes the debatable claim that it is not adds little and makes your research appear more like advocacy than neutral reporting. As for the rescuers, there is some potential for genuinely believing rescuers are Taliban (especially because they do not wear Red Crosses or Crescents to distinguish themselves), but again, many of these attacks bear the hallmarks of failure to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.
Your work has uncovered war crimes (serious breaches of proportionality and indiscriminate attacks) already – it isn’t necessary to make the debatable claim that there isn’t an armed conflict.
February 6th, 2012 at 11:48 am (#)
We consulted with Oxford University’s Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, and Harvard’s Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research for our report, and as their comments make clear this is contested territory. Please also see A Question of Legality.
February 7th, 2012 at 1:33 am (#)
Three cheers for our Nobel Peace Prize laureate!
I would like to think that the day is coming when the US is finally denounced for its crimes against humanity and brought to justice but I won’t hold my breath. The moral compass the entire world is busted and there is no one nation in the world that is better than the next or more justice, less warmongering or more righteous. We’re so doomed!
February 7th, 2012 at 10:49 am (#)
Drone attacks & what Pakistan has got from “War on terror”?
http://bit.ly/nTHdBF
February 8th, 2012 at 5:17 pm (#)
Whether they are drones, or missiles from war planes, wars bring horrible atrocities by those who engage in them. Here in the U.S. however, we see a totally different view on what we are doing to the rest of the world. In testimony before our lamest Congress in my seven decades on this planet, an established periodical, The Nation, sent their reporter, Jeremy Scahill, to discuss his experiences labeled Secret Wars. Listed in the long line of battles we engage in was an incident in Yemen back in December of 2009 where we sent missiles into Yemen to, http://www.thenation.com/blog/156977/jeremy-scahill-testifies-congress-americas-secret-wars , ostensibly, take out members of Al Qaeda. In the small party of around 40 people that was exterminated, there were 21 small children. All of them were blown to a million pieces and following President Saleh agreed to say that these missiles were Yemen’s and not from the U.S. attack. Patreus reportedly showered Saleh with millions in aid but soon the news came out from Amnesty International: “Amnesty International released photographs from one of the strikes revealing remnants of US cluster munitions and the Tomahawk cruise missiles used to deliver them. At the time, the Pentagon refused to comment, directing all inquiries to Yemen’s government, which released a statement on December 24 taking credit for both airstrikes, saying in a press release, “Yemeni fighter jets launched an aerial assault” and “carried out simultaneous raids killing and detaining militants.”
Rather than accept responsibility, Patreus, presumably, with Obama’s approval, since he immediately promoted Patreus, chose to cover up these atrocities and to this day not a single reporter has asked Obama, or his spokes people, why he chose to cover this atrocity up? Cover-ups are a bad word here in the states and Democrats refuse to mention this one, and Republicans probably approve of the cover-up and the atrocity. Yet even international reporters refuse to question the act. Many here in the states say that “shit happens” and while we are not at war with Yemen, we have decided it’s not a problem bombing anywhere we find a group of Arabs or Muslims who don’t like us. No one dare mention this to Obama for fear, apparently, it will cost him his re-election. Where is the international press in questioning this cover-up and why haven’t you posed this question to the U.S. media to find out what sort of deal has been worked out to stick this under our proverbial rugs?
March 3rd, 2012 at 3:22 pm (#)
In the spirit of the late Karl Hess, when the state goes rogue cut off its money. There are legal ways to reduce your federal taxes- including not earning very much. Structure your investments so taxes are paid to foreign nations not engaged in these atrocities (deductible against US taxes owed) or buy municipal bonds. Or…. sit around like the “good Germans” of the Nazi era and do nothing at all.
Fred