Members of the Haqqani Network, the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group, and “Uzbeks” are reported to have been killed in an attack in the Shawal Valley.

Nine of the 19 drone strikes in Pakistan this year have occurred in the jihadist hub of Datta Khel in North Waziristan.

The strike in Shabwa reportedly killed an AQAP military commander.

The US has launched five strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas in five days, indicating that the hunt is on for a senior al Qaeda or allied jihadist leader or operative.

The strike in the Shawal Valley is the third attack in the jihadist haven in the past three days.

Thirteen people are reported to have been killed in airstrikes in the Shawal Valley in South Waziristan. The area is a known transit point for fighters entering Afghanistan.

Abd al Aziz al Omari helped run Twitter accounts that are critical of the US drone program in Yemen.

The US has not launched a drone strike in South Waziristan since mid-April 2013.

“There is no need for such strikes,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, condemning the attack “as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Influential jihadists said that Sufyan al Maghribi, a Moroccan who served as al Qaeda’s military chief in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Umar al Talib, a propagandist who narrated videos for As Sahab, have been killed in airstrikes.

Four Uzbeks, two members of the Punjabi Taliban, and 10 “miitants” are said to have been killed in the pair of strikes.

Debate grows over proposal for CIA to turn over drones to Pentagon

Pakistani CIA informant: ‘Drone attacks are the right thing to do’
