The US has struck again in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agencies. Three unmanned Predator aircraft are reported to have fired three missiles at a compound in Garyom in North Waziristan. The home was owned by a "tribal man" named Mir Gul, according to Geo TV.

Twelve people, including five "foreigners" - a term often used to describe al Qaeda members - were killed in the attack, Reuters reported. No senior al Qaeda or Taliban operatives have been reported killed.

Today's attack is only the second since General David Petraeus took command of US Central Command and the second in November. The attacks are tapering off after a high operational tempo in September and October, when strikes into Pakistan averaged between two to three a week.

There have been 29 recorded cross-border attacks and attempts in Pakistan this year, according to numbers compiled by The Long War Journal. Twenty-two of these attacks have occurred since Aug. 31. There were only 10 strikes during 2006 and 2007 combined.

The strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas have disrupted al Qaeda and the Taliban's operations, but will not dislodge the groups from power in the region, a senior intelligence official told The Long War Journal last week.

The US campaign in Pakistan is aimed at disrupting al Qaeda's ability to attack the West, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal on Sept. 19.

US intelligence believes the next attack launched against the West will originate from Pakistan's tribal areas, where al Qaeda operates 157 known training camps, intelligence officials told The Long War Journal in August.

Pakistan has been identified as one of several areas where al Qaeda has regrouped, CIA Director General Michael Hayden during a briefing to the Atlantic Council yesterday.

High value targets

The US strikes inside Pakistan's tribal areas have killed five senior al Qaeda leaders this year.

Abu Laith al Libi, a senior military commander in Afghanistan, was killed in a strike in North Waziristan in January. Abu Sulayman Jazairi, al Qaeda’s external operations chief, was killed in a strike in Bajaur in March. Abu Khabab al Masri, al Qaeda's WMD chief, and several senior members of his staff were killed in a strike in South Waziristan in July. Khalid Habib, the leader of al Qaeda's paramilitary forces in the tribal areas, was killed in North Waziristan in October. Abu Jihad al Masri, the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group and member of al Qaeda's top council, was also killed in North Waziristan this October.

Other al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are rumored to have been killed or wounded in recent strikes. Taliban leader Mullah Nazir was wounded in last week's strike in South Waziristan. Tahir Yuldashev, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, was also targeted in the strike that wounded Nazir. It is not known if Yuldashev was among those killed.

Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an al Qaeda facilitator and financier in North Waziristan, was reported killed in an attack in North Waziristan in October, but Taliban fighters said he survived the strike and "is healthy and very much in his routine."

US attacks inside Pakistan and incidents along the border in 2008:

• US targets compound in North Waziristan,
Nov. 14, 2008
• US Predators strike al Qaeda camp in North Waziristan,
Nov. 7, 2008
• US Predators strike again in Waziristan,
Oct. 31, 2008
• US strikes kill al Qaeda operatives in North & South Waziristan,
Oct. 31, 2008
• US targets Taliban "facility" in South Waziristan,
Oct. 26, 2008
• US hits Haqqani Network in North Waziristan,
Oct. 22, 2008
• US strike in Baitullah Mehsud's territory kills 6,
Oct. 16, 2008
• US targets safe house in North Waziristan,
Oct. 11, 2008
• US strike kills 9 al Qaeda and Taliban in North Waziristan,
Oct. 9, 2008
• US conducts two strikes in North Waziristan,
Oct. 3, 2008
• Taliban: Baitullah Mehsud alive; US strike in North Waziristan,
Oct. 1, 2008
• Pakistan military fires on ISAF forces,
Sept. 25, 2008
• Pakistani military fires on US helicopters at border,
Sept. 22, 2008
• US strikes Taliban camp in South Waziristan,
Sept. 17, 2008
• Report: US helicopters fired on while crossing Pakistani border,
Sept. 15, 2008
• US hits compound in North Waziristan,
Sept. 12, 2008
• US targets Haqqani Network in North Waziristan,
Sept. 8, 2008
• US airstrike killed five al Qaeda operatives in North Waziristan,
Sept. 5, 2008
• Report: US airstrike kills four in North Waziristan,
Sept. 4, 2008
• Pakistanis claim US helicopter-borne forces assaulted village in South Waziristan,
Sept. 3, 2008
• US hits al Qaeda safe house in North Waziristan,
Aug. 31, 2008
• Five killed in al Qaeda safe house strike in South Waziristan,
Aug. 31, 2008
• Al Qaeda safe house targeted in South Waziristan strike,
Aug. 20, 2008
• Cross-border strike targets one of the Taliban's 157 training camps in Pakistan's northwest,
Aug. 13, 2008
• Six killed in strike in South Waziristan,
July 28, 2008
• Report: Strike targets Baitullah Mehsud's hideout in Pakistan,
June 14, 2008
• Senior Algerian al Qaeda operative killed in May 14 strike inside Pakistan,
May 24, 2008
• Missile strike kills 20 in South Waziristan,
March 16, 2008
• Unprecedented Coalition strike nails the Haqqani Network in North Waziristan,
March 13, 2008
• Missile strike on al Qaeda meeting in South Waziristan kills 13,
Feb. 28, 2008
• Senior al Qaeda leader Abu Laith al Libi killed in North Waziristan,
Jan. 31, 2008