Increased drone strikes in Pak in accordance with Obama’s policy
By ANIWednesday, January 27, 2010
WASHINGTON - Even as Pakistan continues to strongly object US drone strikes in the tribal region along the Afghan border, the CIA operated missile hits have actually doubled in the past two months, which clearly highlights President Obama’s policy of taking on the extremists with more force.
According to The Washington Post, Obama has directed the CIA to enhance the intensity of the drone attacks in the ungoverned tribal region in order to kill the top Al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders and dismantle the terror network in the region.
“There have been more such strikes in the first year of Obama’s administration than in the last three years under President George Bush,” the newspaper quoted a military official, who keeps a track of the attacks, as saying.
Not only in Pakistan, the White House, greatly concerned by the increasing activities of the Al-Qaeda in Yemen, has also directed the defence forces and intelligence agencies to step up action against the outlawed extremist organisation.
U.S. military teams and intelligence agencies are deeply involved in secret joint operations with Yemeni troops who in the past six weeks have killed scores of militants, among them six of 15 top leaders of a regional Al-Qaeda affiliate, senior administrative officials said.
Officials said that the covert operations, which began six weeks ago, have been approved by Obama himself.
The offensive involves several dozen troops from the U.S. military’s clandestine Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), whose main mission is to track down and execute suspected terrorists. (ANI)
