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Encyclopedia > Damadola airstrike

On January 13, 2006 U.S. aircraft fired missiles into the Pakistani village of Damadola (Urdu: ڈمہ ڈولا ) in the Bajaur (Urdu: باجوڑ ) tribal area, about seven kilometers (4.5 miles) from the Afghan border, killing at least 18 people. Originally the Bajaur tribal area government claimed that at least four foreign members of al-Qaeda were among the dead. U.S. and Pakistani officials now say that none of those al-Qaeda leaders perished in the strike and that only local villagers were killed.[1] The attack targeted Ayman al-Zawahiri, purportedly second-in-command of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden, who was thought to be in the village. January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Damadola is a village in the Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan, about 7 km (4. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are areas of Pakistan outside any of the four provinces, comprising a region of some 27,220 km² (10,507 mi²). Neighbouring regions are: Afghanistan to the west with the border marked by the Durand Line, the North-West Frontier to the north, the Punjab... Urdu ( , , trans. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... Group photo of Ayman Al Zawahiri, Usama Bin Laden & Abu Hafs Prosecution Trial Exhibit from the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui Sheikh Dr. Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri (Arabic: ‎) (born June 19, 1951) is a prominent member of the al-Qaeda group, a physician, author, poet, and formerly the head of... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ...

Contents

Airstrike

The attack was carried out by four CIA-operated unmanned Predator drones which launched four Hellfire missiles at a mud-walled compound, destroying three houses several hundred yards apart. [1] Another report said that as many as 10 missiles were fired. [2] “CIA” redirects here. ... The £124 million Taranis UAV built by BAE Systems An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft with no onboard pilot. ... Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle flies on a simulated Navy aerial reconnaissance flight off southern California in December 1995. ... Type Air-to-ground and surface-to-surface Missile Nationality United States Era Cold War and through Global War on Terrorism Launch platform Rotary- and fixed-wing platforms, Unmanned aerial vehicle, tri-pods, ships, and ground vehicles Target Three warhead variants defeat an array of targets including tanks, light armored...


The official number of dead is 18, including eight men, five women and five children, but other reports indicate that as many as 25 people were killed. 14 of the dead were said to be from the same family. [3] There is confusion over the actual number killed, since reports claims that 13 - 15 of the dead were buried immediately. Some sources say this was "according to Islamic custom" [4] , others say they were buried "without customary funeral arrangements" [5].


The Associated Press (AP) has reported that unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials assert that the attack was conducted based on intelligence that al-Zawahiri was invited to a dinner to mark the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha at the compound that was targeted. While al-Zawahiri himself did not attend the dinner, aides were sent in his place. Officially, the provincial government of Bajur, where the attack took place, has now confirmed that "four or five foreign terrorists" were killed in the attack, and that "10 or 12" extremists had attended in all. The official statement, however, stopped short of confirming that al-Zawahiri was the main target of the attack [6]. Eid ul-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى) is second in the series of Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. ...


ABC then reported that Al Qaeda bomb maker and chemical weapons expert Midhat Mursi was killed in the strike. The United States had posted a $5 million reward for Mursi's capture. He was described by U.S. authorities as the man who ran al-Qaeda's Derunta training camp in Afghanistan, where he used dogs and other animals as subjects of experiments with poison and chemicals. According to Pakistani officials, Khalid Habib, the al-Qaeda operations chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Abdul Rehman al Magrabi, a senior operations commander for al-Qaeda, were also killed. The meeting was called to funnel new money into attacks against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. [7] Map of major attacks attributed to al-Qaeda (also al-Qaida or al-Qaida or al-Qaidah) (Arabic: ‎ , translation: The Base) is an international alliance of militant Sunni jihadist organizations. ... Midhat Mursi (also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri) is a top bomb maker for al-Qaeda, and is considered to be in Osama bin-Ladens inner circle. ... Surveillance photo of the Derunta training camp after U.S. bombardment. ... Khalid Habib (Arabic: خالد حبيب ) is an ascending member of al-Qaedas central structure in Pakistan and Afghanistan. ...


Two Pakistani intelligence officials said Libyan-born Abu Faraj al-Libbi, who was captured in Pakistan in May 2005, told interrogators that he had met al-Zawahiri last year at the home of Bakhtpur Khan, one of the thirteen villagers killed in the airstrike. After that confession, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agents, with the help of local tribesmen and Afghans, monitored Bakhtpur Khan's home. [8] Abu Faraj al-Libbi Abu Faraj al-Libbi (Arabic: أبو فرج الليبي) is a Libyan and an alleged member of the al-Qaeda terror organization. ... 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Wikimedia Commons has media related to: May 2005 Deaths in May May 26: Eddie Albert May 25: Ismail Merchant May 25: Sunil Dutt May 25: Graham Kennedy May 22: Thurl Ravenscroft May 21: Howard Morris May 21...


Responses

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it protested to U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker over the "loss of innocent civilian lives." Ryan C. Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker (born on June 19, 1949 in Spokane, Washington) is current United States Ambassador to Iraq. ...


The Pakistani government angrily denounced the attack. Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed called the attack "highly condemnable" and said the government wanted "to assure the people we will not allow such incidents to reoccur." Official government photograph Shaikh Rashid Ahmad (born 1950-11-06) is a Pakistani politician and writer. ...


Tension remained high throughout tribal areas. Angry Pakistanis protested against the strike, claiming it was illegal, and that the attack that killed innocent civilians. However it now appears that several high ranking Al-Queda terrorists were also killed in the attack. Several other Al-Queda members escaped.


Thousands of tribesmen staged protests and a mob set fire to the office of Associated Development Construction, a non-governmental organisation funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, in a sign of increasing frustration over a recent series of suspected U.S. attacks along Pakistan's frontier with Afghanistan. The United States Agency for International Development (or USAID) is the US government organization responsible for most non-military foreign aid. ...


On Sunday January 15, tens of thousands of Pakistanis took part in anti-American protests across the country. The largest demonstration was held in the city of Karachi where protesters chanted "Death to America" and "Stop bombing innocent people". Hundreds of riot police were deployed to control the crowds. A leader in the coalition of Islamic groups that organised the nationwide protests demanded that General Musharraf step down. [9] is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...   (Urdu: , Sindhi: ) is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. ... Pervez Musharraf (Urdu: پرويز مشرف) (born August 10, 1943) is the President of Pakistan, the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army and the fourth Pakistani General to govern the country in the wake of a coup. ...


Also on January 15, U.S. politicians expressed regret over the deaths caused by the attack but said the airstrike was justified.


"It's terrible when innocent people are killed; we regret that," said U.S. Senator John McCain. "We apologize, but I can't tell you that we wouldn't do the same thing again. We have to do what we think is necessary to take out al Qaeda, particularly the top operatives. This guy has been more visible than Osama bin Laden lately." The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... For McCains grandfather and father, see John S. McCain, Sr. ...


Senator Evan Bayh blamed the Pakistani government for being unable to control the frontier, rhetorically asking "Now, it's a regrettable situation, but what else are we supposed to do? It's like the Wild, Wild West out there. The Pakistani border (with Afghanistan) is a real problem." [10] Birch Evans Bayh III (commonly known as Evan Bayh) (pronounced like bye; IPA pronunciation: ) (born December 26, 1955) is an American politician who has served as the junior U.S. Senator from Indiana since 1999 and a former Governor of Indiana. ...


President Bush has provided written legal authority to the CIA to hunt down and kill people designated as enemy combatant "high-value targets" without seeking further approval each time the agency is about to stage an operation. The CIA believes it possesses all the necessary approvals within its counterterror center in Langley, Virginia to fire missiles anywhere in the world, including Pakistan, when a high-value al-Qaida target is spotted. The agency doesn't require further clearance from the White House, local governments, or the CIA director to kill an al-Qaida operative. The purpose of this expanded authority is to expedite rapid action in case an assassination opportunity is time-sensitive. [11] [12] George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... An enemy combatant has historically referred to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. ... Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. ... For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ...


On January 30, a video showing Al-Zawahri wearing white robes and a white turban, said the Jan. 13 airstrike killed "innocents" and said the United States had ignored an offer from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden for a truce. Al-Zawahri made no mention of the death of several of his colleagues in the attack. [13] is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

Combatants Pakistan Waziristan tribesmen, al-Qaeda, Taliban Commanders Commander XI Corps Haji Omar, Abu Faraj al-Libbi(captured) Strength 80,000[2] 40,000[3] Casualties 950[4] - 3,000[5] Pakistan military and paramilitary killed 1,000[6] - 3,000[4] militants killed, 2,500 foreign suspects captured (released... Targeted killing is a controversial strategy whereby anticipated acts of terrorism are prevented by killing a person deemed to be related to those acts. ... Combatants Participants in operations  United States  United Kingdom  Israel  Canada  Australia  Poland  Iraq  Afghanistan  India  Pakistan  Philippines  Somalia  Ethiopia  Lebanon Fatah et al. ... Combatants US Air Force (As cited by eyewitness) Pakistan army (Pakistani Government claims) Pro-Taliban militants (Pakistani claim) Strength Unspecified number of aircraft (pakistani government claim 3 gunships while eyewitness reports drones) Unspecified (estimated to be 90) Casualties None 70-80 The Chenagai airstrike took place on October 30, 2006...

External links

  • Aljazeera.net - 18 killed in Pakistan air strike.
  • Telegraph.co.uk- Pakistan fury as CIA airstrike on village kills 18.
  • MercuryNews.com - Pakistanis say 17 killed in airstrike
  • USA Today - Pakistan: Terrorists Killed in U.S. Strike

 
 

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