US Predator strikes in North Waziristan

Map of the tribal areas and the Northwest Frontier Province. The government signed peace agreements in the red agencies/ districts (the military said Shangla was under Taliban control in October); purple districts are under de facto Taliban control; yellow regions are under Taliban influence.

The US has attacked a Taliban safe house in the lawless tribal agency of North Waziristan, killing two people, according to reports from the region.

An unmanned Predator aircraft fired at least one Hellfire missile at a Taliban safe house in the Tapi Tool region near Miramshah, the main town in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency, Geo News reported.

No senior leaders have been reported killed in the strike.

The al Qaeda-linked Haqqani family and Taliban warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadar operate in North Waziristan. The Haqqani Network has a strong presence in Miramshah region of North Waziristan.

The Haqqanis control large swaths of the tribal area and run a parallel administration with courts, recruiting centers, tax offices, and security forces. They have established multiple training camps and safe houses used by al Qaeda leaders and operatives, as well as by Taliban foot soldiers preparing to fight in Afghanistan.

Nearly 60 percent of US strikes in Pakistan this year have taken place in North Waziristan.

Background on the recent strikes inside Pakistan

The US attacks inside Pakistan have tapered off the past six weeks after a high operational tempo in September and October, when strikes into Pakistan averaged two to three a week. Only eight attacks have been recorded in November and the first two weeks of December. The majority of these attacks have been inside North and South Waziristan.

Attacks in the tribal areas have decreased in frequency over the past six weeks as al Qaeda and the Taliban have taken additional security precautions, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. "They have either gone to ground or are limiting their movements and meetings to reduce their visibility," the official said.

There have been 35 recorded cross-border attacks and attempts in Pakistan this year, according to numbers compiled by The Long War Journal. Twenty-eight of these attacks took place since Aug. 31. There were only 10 recorded 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.

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.

The US strikes inside Pakistan's tribal areas have killed five senior al Qaeda leaders this year. All of the leaders were involved in supporting al Qaeda's external operations directed at the West.

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 weapons of mass destruction 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.

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

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