What Happened?

16 January 2007: A U.S. drone missile struck a home in the Zamozola area of Shaktoi in South Waziristan. The drone attack killed at least 7 civilians and 1 child. Eyewitness testimony shows that those killed were local woodcutters.

An eyewitness spoke to the Pakistani The News shortly after the attack: “I spoke to people in our village and was told that Katoor Khan, son of Chaghan Khan, Taj Alam son of Hawas Khan, and Taj Alam’s 10-year old cousin, all hailing from Kot Killay village were killed along with five unidentified Afghan nomads, known as powindahs. Some of the bodies were badly burnt and dismembered,” he explained. He said there were only six houses in the place that was attacked but women and children in one of the houses had a miraculous escape. He claimed the locals who were killed and wounded in the attack were small contractors who logged timber from the forests and made charcoal from wood with the help of the Afghan labourers.”

One unexploded missile was recovered from the debris that bore the markings AM York 0873, a type of unguided munition in service of the U.S. armed forces. It is unknown if whether helicopters, jets, or drones were used in this attack.

Sources: AP, Reuters, Dawn.

Pictorial and Evidence

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