What Happened?

19 November 2008: A U.S. drone attack targeted a house in the Jani Khel area of Bannu (then a Frontier Region of Pakistan). Between 3 to 6 people were killed in this attack, including 7 injured.

The US Embassy in Islamabad alleged that the attack targeted the so-called Quetta Shura, a council of militant groups in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region, killing Al Qaeda leaders.

A local policeman, Muhammad Alam, testified that those killed were all locals and civilians. A secret document published by the FATA Secretariat in Islamabad notes that 3 people, all civilians, were killed.

This was the first publicly acknowledged American attack on mainland Pakistan (outside the tribal agencies). However, the CIA had covertly attacked Jani Khel once before in December 2007, allegedly injuring the Al-Qaeda leader Sheikh Issa Al-Misri.

Given the contradicting accounts, this attack is undocumented and requires further verification.

Sources: US diplomatic cable, BBC, CNN.

OMM-PK085

Pictorial and Evidence

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