Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




UAV NEWS
US drone strike kills four militants in Pakistan
by Staff Writers
Miranshah, Pakistan (AFP) Sept 27, 2010


Nuclear-armed Pakistan takes over as chair of IAEA board
Vienna, Austria (AFP) Sept 27, 2010 - Pakistan, which refuses to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and was home to a notorious nuclear smuggling ring, was named head of the UN nuclear watchdog's governing board here Monday. At a special one-day meeting, the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board of governors appointed "by acclamation" the head of Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission, Ansar Parvez, as its chairman for the next 12 months, taking over from Malaysia. The board of governors is the IAEA's most important policy-making body after the 151-nation general conference and meets five times a year. Its rotating chair is appointed for a period of one year with the main task of presiding over debates and helping the board of governors reach consensus decisions. Parvez said he saw no problem with the choice, even though Pakistan, like India and Israel, refuses to sign the NPT.

Pakistan has held the chair before and India has done so twice. Some observers see Pakistan as a potential problem because it was home to a nuclear-smuggling ring run by scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb and a national hero. Khan publicly confessed in 2004 that he shared atomic secrets with Iran, Libya and North Korea, although he later retracted his remarks. There is also concern about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and stockpile of weapons-grade material, and the danger of it falling into the hands of Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgents. But speaking to reporters after his appointment, Parvez insisted that Pakistan was a "very law-abiding member" of the IAEA. "We have been a member of the IAEA ever since it was created. All our civil installations are under IAEA" safeguards, he said.

In fact, given Pakistan's special position, "maybe we can try to mediate in some of the things which the IAEA has been dealing with for the last few years," Parvez argued. He said that he had heard no objections to Pakistan's nomination inside the board room. Furthermore, it was the duty of the chair to remain neutral. "This is just a routine change. This time it was the turn of MESA (Middle East and South Aeia group) and they unanimously nominated Pakistan," Parvez said. Western diplomats at the closed-door board meeting on Monday also said they had no particular problem with Pakistan taking over the chair. "They are a member (of the IAEA), as, say, Israel is," one diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I don't necessarily see it as a problem. "What matters more is the personality and the qualifications of that person. (The chair) is first among equals, not someone who can impose anything" on the overall board, the diplomat said. US ambassador to the IAEA Glyn Davies said: "The United States of America looks forward very much to working with the Pakistani governor as chairman of the board of governors."

A US drone strike killed four militants Monday and destroyed a rebel compound in Pakistan's lawless tribal badlands along the Afghan border, local security officials said.

Pakistani officials say unmanned US aircraft have significantly stepped up attacks on Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked operatives in the semi-autonomous region this month, clocking up at least 19 attacks in 24 days.

Monday's strike took place in Khushali Toorikhel village southeast of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, the tribal district that has been the focus of the covert drone campaign as a Taliban and Al-Qaeda stronghold.

"We can now confirm that four militants were killed when a US drone fired two missiles on a militant compound," a senior Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another security official confirmed the attack and the death toll.

"We don't yet know the identities of those killed," the official said.

Pakistani security officials also said US drones carried out missile strikes in North Waziristan on Saturday and Sunday, killing at least 11 militants.

Militants fighting against 150,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan are believed to be holed up in Pakistan's northwestern Federally Administered Tribal Areas, as are operatives at war with Pakistani security forces.

Washington has branded the rugged tribal area, which lies outside Pakistani government control, a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth.

The US military does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.

More than 1,100 people have been killed in over 130 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants.

Recent missile attacks have largely targeted militants linked with the Haqqani network, which is based in North Waziristan.

Officials in Washington say the strikes have killed a number of high-value targets including Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. However, the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim country.

Under US pressure to crack down on Islamist havens along the Afghan border, Pakistan has in the past year stepped up military operations against largely homegrown militants in the area.

Last year Pakistan launched its most ambitious military offensive yet against Taliban militants in South Waziristan, expanding the campaign to many of the other seven semi-autonomous tribal districts along the border.

Pakistani commanders have not ruled out an offensive in North Waziristan, but argue that gains in South Waziristan and the northwestern district of Swat need to be consolidated to prevent their troops from being stretched too thin.

Pakistan protests over cross-border NATO air strikes
Islamabad (AFP) Sept 28, 2010 - Pakistan on Monday denounced cross-border air strikes by NATO helicopters pursuing militants as a violation of its sovereignty as the alliance said its forces had the right to defend themselves.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which is fighting a Taliban-led insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan, said the attack Friday left more than 30 rebels dead.

Pakistan said the helicopters intruded into its territory twice from the eastern Afghan province of Khost as they chased the militants.

"These incidents are a clear violation and breach of the UN mandate under which ISAF operates," foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement.

ISAF said the choppers "engaged a significant number of insurgents" after a remote Afghan forces outpost in Khost province came under attack.

"An air weapons team in the area observed the enemy fire, and following International Security Assistance Force rules of engagement, crossed into the area of enemy fire," it said in a statement.

ISAF aircraft then fired on the militants killing more than 30, the statement said, adding that two helicopters returned to the border area on Saturday and killed several more insurgents.

"Initial reports indicate no civilians were injured or killed during either operation," the ISAF statement said. The force later added that no ground troops had crossed the border during the operation.

"The helicopters briefly crossed the border to engage the threat to the outpost," an ISAF spokesman told AFP.

An angry Pakistan said ISAF's mandate "finishes" at the Afghan border.

"There are no agreed 'hot pursuit' rules. Any impression to the contrary is not factually correct. Such violations are unacceptable," the foreign office statement added.

It said ISAF had been asked not to participate in any military action that violates its UN mandate and infringes upon Pakistan's sovereignty.

"In the absence of immediate corrective measures, Pakistan will be constrained to consider response options," it warned.

Responding to Islamabad's protest, NATO said its forces have a right to self-defence.

"ISAF forces must and will retain the authority, within their mandate, to defend themselves in carrying out their mission," a NATO official in Brussels told AFP.

The official expressed "regret that ISAF was unable to establish contacts with the Pakistani military, despite attempting to do so, as the incident was taking place."

He said ISAF would continue to work closely with its Pakistani partners, "both to stop cross-border attacks from Pakistan into Afghanistan and also to enhance coordination and communication."

The incident is likely to further complicate Washington's ties with Islamabad as well as Afghanistan's difficult relations with Pakistan.

Islambabad last week rejected revelations by famed Watergate journalist Bob Woodward that the CIA runs a secret Afghan paramilitary force that hunts down Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in covert operations in Pakistan.

US President Barack Obama has sought to pile pressure on militant havens in Pakistan through a stepped up bombing campaign using unmanned aircraft as well as US special forces' operations in Afghan territory.

The US military's presence in Afghanistan and its covert drone strikes in the border tribal belt are subject to sharp criticism and suspicion in Pakistan.

The rare NATO cross-border attacks came amid a surge in drone strikes in the tribal belt, which is considered a safe haven for Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked operatives and described by Washington as the most dangerous place on Earth.

Four militants were killed in a missile strike on Monday which was 19th attack in 24 days.

Under US pressure, Pakistan has stepped up military operations against largely homegrown militants.

Last year Pakistan launched its most ambitious military offensive yet against Taliban militants in South Waziristan, expanding the campaign to many of the other seven semi-autonomous tribal districts along the border.

.


Related Links
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








UAV NEWS
Two US drone strikes kill seven militants in Pakistan
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) Sept 26, 2010
Two US drone strikes targeting vehicles killed seven militants on Sunday in Pakistan's rugged tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said. Both attacks took place in Asar village of Datta Khel town, some 50km (31 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district known as a hub for Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants. "The US drone fired three missiles ... read more


UAV NEWS
Watch Out For The Super Harvest Moon

Water on Moon is bad news for China's lunar telescope

New Insights Into The Moon's Rich Geologic Complexity

Astrium Investigates Automatic Landing At The Moon's South Pole

UAV NEWS
Martian Moon Phobos May Have Formed by Catastrophic Blast

First Results From Herschel Mars Observations

Peculiar Phenomena During Northern Spring On Mars

Opportunity Approaching Possible Meteorite

UAV NEWS
Russia to take space tourists in 2013

Synthetic Life Could Aid Space Exploration

Soyuz Spacecraft Upgrade Ups Payload By 70 Kg

Glitch delays space station crew's return to Earth

UAV NEWS
China Ready For Another Lunar Encounter

China keeps up busy space launch schedule

Space-Age Device To Deliver More Efficient Health Care On Earth And Above

China Launches New Satellite

UAV NEWS
Russian spacecraft lands safely after delays

International Partners Discuss ISS Extension And Use

Spacecraft with three cosmonauts undocks after delay

Glitch delays space station crew's return to Earth

UAV NEWS
Vandenberg launches Minotaur IV

LockMart And ATK Athena Launch Vehicles Selected As A NASA Launch Services Provider

Sirius XM-5 Satellite Delivered To Baikonur For October Launch

Emerging Technologies May Fuel Revolutionary Launcher

UAV NEWS
This Planet Smells Funny

Scientists looking to spot alien oceans

Deadly Tides Mean Early Exit For Hot Jupiters

Can We Spot Volcanoes On Alien Worlds

UAV NEWS
BlackBerry maker RIM unveils 'PlayBook' tablet computer

US retail powerhouse Target to sell iPad tablet computers

Sorting The Space Trash

Gates tops list of richest Americans, Zuckerberg 35th




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement