The Year of the Drone

(also see How to Fight an Unmanned War.pdf )

An Analysis of U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2010

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2004-2007

View U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan in a larger map
Click each pin to see the details of a reported strike. The red border represents the extent of Pakistan's tribal regions in the northwest of the country. Red pin=2004-2007; Pink pin=2008; Dark blue pin=2009; (Purple pin=Bush in 2009); Light blue pin=2010

This research was last updated on September 22, 2010. For a full analysis of the repercussions and results of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, please click here for "The Year of the Drone," by Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann, February 24, 2010.

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2004-2007

The research on these pages, which we have created in a good faith effort to be as transparent as possible with our sources and analysis and will be updated regularly, draws only on accounts from reliable media organizations with deep reporting capabilities in Pakistan, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, accounts by major news services and networks—the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, CNN, and the BBC—and reports in the leading English-language newspapers in Pakistan—the Daily Times, Dawn, and the News—as well as those from Geo TV, the largest independent Pakistani television network.

Our study shows that the 167 reported drone strikes in northwest Pakistan, including 71 in 2010, from 2004 to the present have killed approximately between 1,137 and 1,749 individuals, of whom around  to 826 to 1,219 were described as militants in reliable press accounts. Thus, the true non-militant fatality rate since 2004 according to our analysis is approximately 30 percent.

We have also constructed a map, based on the same reliable press accounts and publicly available maps, of the estimated location of each drone strike. Click each pin in the online version to see the details of a reported strike; the red border represents the extent of Pakistan's tribal regions in the northwest of the country. And while we are not professional cartographers, and Google Maps is at times incomplete or imperfect, this map gives our best approximations of the locations and details of each reported drone strike since 2004.

This study carries a Creative Commons license, which permits re-use of New America content when proper attribution is provided. Please click here for conditions of use, and when citing please attribute to Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann's drones database at the New America Foundation.

Estimated Total Deaths from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2010

 *Through September 22, 2010

Estimated Militant Deaths from U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan 2004 - 2010

*Through September 22, 2010

Estimated Militant Leader Deaths from US Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2010

*Through September 22, 2010. Included in estimated militants and estimated totals, above.

Militant leaders killed

2010

• September 14, 2010: Saifullah, Siraj Haqqani’s cousin (Dawn/AFP)
• June 29, 2010: Hamza al-Jufi, AQ commander (NYT)
• May 22-23, 2010: Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (FP)
• March 8, 2010: Sadam Hussein Al Hussami, also known as Ghazwan Al-Yemeni, al-Qaeda planner and explosives expert with contacts in AQAP and Afghan and Pakistani Taliban (AP)
• February 24, 2010: Mohammad Qari Zafar, Taliban commander wanted in 2006 Karachi consulate bombing

• February 17, 2010: Sheikh Mansoor, Egyptian-Canadian al-Qaeda leader

• February 15, 2010: Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, al-Qaeda linked leader of a group called the Turkistani Islamic Party

• January 9, 2010: Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim, wanted for his alleged role in the 1986 hijacking of Pan American World Airways flight during a stop in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi (BBC, AP, Asian Tribune) [Author note: BBC says he “died” on Jan. 9, AP says he was killed by a drone on Jan. 9, and Asian Tribune says he died in the strike on Ismail Khel, which happened on Jan. 10 as per AFP, AP, CNN, Dawn, Times of India, and Geo.]

• Early January, 2010: Mahmud Mahdi Zeidan, Jordanian Taliban commander, bodyguard of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2004-2007

 
Strikes by Target

*Count is more than the number of strikes in some cases because some targets fell into multiple categories.
**Saad bin Laden, one of Osama bin Laden’s sons, was reported killed by a drone in 2009 sometime before July 22, 2009, but it’s unknown exactly when, so he is included in the targeting as al Qaeda but not in one of the individual entries in 2009. [Author note: Saad bin Laden was reported alive in December 2009 by his brother, Omar.]

In cases where a media report described a specific target such as Baitullah Mehsud or the Haqqani network, the target is counted as such. If a target was both al Qaeda and Taliban commanders, it is counted once under each category. Strikes against Baitullah Mehsud are not included in the overall Taliban count. We assume that strikes which kill a leader in a given group were targeted at that group. Only for cases when a specific target or group was not reported by the media and a specific location was given, we used the following geographical areas of influence to estimate which particular militant group was targeted.

• Miram Shah, North Waziristan - Jalaluddin Haqqani’s network
• Ladha or Makeen, South Waziristan - Baitullah Mehsud/his deputies
• Wana, South Waziristan - Mullah Nazir, Baitullah Mehsud’s (former) Taliban rival

71. September 22, 2010
Location: Azam Warsak, 6 miles NW of Wana, South Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 5-12
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AFP, Reuters, CNN, AJE, BBC, NBC
Assumed target: Funeral of those killed in first strike (Mullah Nazir fighters) (TALIBAN)

70. September 22, 2010
Location: Khund, South Waziristan border with Afghanistan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 7
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AFP, Reuters, CNN, AJE, BBC, NBC
Assumed target: Vehicle with militants affiliated with Mullah Nazir (TALIBAN)

69. September 20, 2010
Location: Darazinda village, 25 miles northeast of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-6
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AP, AFP
Assumed target: Militants on a motorbike (UNCLEAR)

68. September 19, 2010
Location: Deghan, Datta Khel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-5
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AP, AFP, ET
Assumed target: Vehicle (UNCLEAR)

67. September 15, 2010
Location: Payekhel village of Dattakhel district, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 3-7
Others killed: Unknown
Source: Dawn, CSM, The News, CNN, AFP, Dawn
Assumed target: Militant compound (UNCLEAR)

66. September 15, 2010
Location: Dargah Mandi, outskirts of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 11-12
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AFP, AP, Dawn/AFP, Dawn, CNN, Reuters
Assumed target: Militant compounds (HAQQANI/TALIBAN)

65. September 14, 2010
Location: Qutabkhel village, a southern suburb of Miranshah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4
Others killed: Unknown
Source: ET/AFP, AP, Dawn/AFP, AP, CNN, Geo
Assumed target: Vehicle with militants (UNCLEAR)

64. September 14, 2010
Location: Bushnarai village, Shawal, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 8-11
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AP, Pajhwok, Geo, AFP, CNN, BBC
Assumed target: Militant compound (UNCLEAR)

63. September 12, 2010
Location: Datta Khel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-6
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AJE, Dawn/AFP, AFP, AP, Geo, The News, CNN
Assumed target: House associated with Hafiz Gul Bahadur (TALIBAN)

62. September 9, 2010
Location: Outskirts of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 5-6
Others killed: Unknown
Source: Geo, AP, AFP, CNN, Geo, AP
Assumed target: Compound (UNCLEAR)

61. September 8, 2010
Location: Danday Darpa Khel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-10
Others killed: Unknown
Source: Geo, AP, AFP, CNN, Geo, AP
Assumed target: House owned by Maulvi Azizullah (HAQQANI)

60. September 8, 2010
Location: Ambor Shaga on Dattakhel Road, near the border, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4
Others killed: Unknown
Source: CNN, AFP, AP, BBC, Geo, AP
Assumed target: Vehicle (UNCLEAR)

59. September 8, 2010
Location: Dargha Mandi at Ghulam Khan Road area, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-6
Others killed: Unknown
Source: CNN, AFP, AP, BBC, Geo
Assumed target: Suspected militant hideout (UNCLEAR)

58. September 6, 2010
Location: Khar Qamar, a village in Datta Khel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 3-5
Others killed: Unknown
Source: CNN, Dawn, AP, BBC, Geo, AFP, AP
Assumed target: Vehicle carrying militants (UNCLEAR)

57. September 4, 2010
Location: Datta Khel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-8
Others killed: Unknown
Source: CNN, Dawn, AP, AFP
Assumed target: House and vehicle (UNCLEAR)

56. September 3, 2010
Location: Datta Khel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 2-4
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AP, Geo, Dawn, ET
Assumed target: Vehicle (UNCLEAR)

55. September 3, 2010
Location: Machis Factory area on outskirts of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 2-9
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AP, Geo, Dawn, ET, CNN, AFP
Assumed target: House used by militants (UNCLEAR)

54. August 29, 2010
Location: Shahidano village, 62 miles southwest of Peshawar, Kurram
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 3-9
Others killed: Unknown
Source: CNN, AFP, AP, Geo, AP/Reuters
Assumed target: Vehicles carrying suspected militants (TALIBAN/HAQQANI)

53. August 23, 2010
Location: Danday Darpa Khel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 5-13
Others killed: 0-7
Source: Reuters, Geo, Dawn/AFP, CNN
Assumed target: Militant compound and house (TALIBAN/HAQQANI)

52. August 21, 2010
Location: Kutabkhel village, 3 km south of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-6
Others killed: Unknown
Source: Geo, Daily Times, AP, AFP
Assumed target: Two vehicles (UNCLEAR)

51. August 14, 2010
Location: Issori, 13 miles east of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Amir Moawia, TTP commander
Militants killed: 7-13
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AFP, BBC, AP, VOA, CNN, Geo, AJE, ET, Dawn, Geo
Assumed target: Compound used by militants (TALIBAN)<!--EndFragment-->

50. July 25, 2010
Location: Landikhel area of Sararogha, South Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 3-4
Others killed: Unknown
Source: BBC, Dawn, AP, The News
Assumed target: Local militants affiliated with TTP (TALIBAN)

49. July 25, 2010
Location: Tabbi Tolkhel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-7
Others killed: Unknown
Source: BBC, Daily Times/AP, CNN, Dawn, Geo, The News
Assumed target: Suspected militant compound (UNCLEAR)

48. July 25, 2010
Location: Shaktoi, South Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 4-14
Others killed: Unknown
Source: BBC, Daily Times/AP, CNN, Nation, Dawn, Geo, The News, Geo
Assumed target: Vehicle carrying militants affiliated with Hakimullah Mehsud (TALIBAN)

47. July 24, 2010
Location: Dwasarak village, 25 miles west of Wana, near Angoor Adda, South Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 16-18
Others killed: Unknown
Source: Geo, BBC, AP, CNN, AJE, ET, The News
Assumed target: Compound used by militants affiliated with local commander Maulana Halimullah (UNCLEAR)

46. July 15, 2010
Location: Sheerani, Mada Khel, North Waziristan (19 miles west of Miram Shah)
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 5-14
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AP, BBC, CNN, AFP, Dawn/AFP, The News
Assumed target: Compound used by militants affiliated with Hafiz Gul Bahadur (TALIBAN)

45. June 29, 2010
Location: Lamal village, near Karikot, 6 miles SW of Wana, South Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Hamza al-Jufi, AQ commander (NYT)
Militants killed: 6-10
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AFP, AP, Reuters, BBC, ET, Geo, CNN, NYT
Assumed target: House of militant commander Maulana Halimullah/Compound of Hamza al-Jufi (TALIBAN/QAEDA)

44. June 27, 2010
Location: Tabbi Tolkhel, 4 km north of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 3-6
Others killed: Unknown
Source: Daily Times, ET, AP, AFP, Daily Times, Guardian, Dawn
Assumed target: Militant compound (UNCLEAR)

43. June 26, 2010
Location: Khushali Khel, Mir Ali, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 2-4
Others killed: Unknown
Source: Geo, Daily Times, ET, AP, BBC, AFP, Daily Times, Guardian, Dawn
Assumed target: House of Hameedullah; Hafiz Gul Bahadur-linked house (TALIBAN)

42. June 21, 2010
Location: Sokhel village, 16 miles east of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Abu Ahmed (The News)
Militants killed: 11-17
Others killed: Unknown
Source: The News, ET, BBC, AP, NYT, Reuters, CNN, AJE, The News, The News
Assumed target: Government water supply plant where militants were meeting (TALIBAN/QAEDA)

41. June 11, 2010
Location: Datta Khel, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 8-15
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AP, AFP, Geo, Dawn, BBC, CNN, ET, Nation
Assumed target: House belonging to militants in Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s group (TALIBAN)

40. June 10, 2010
Location: Khaddi village, nine miles east of Miram Shah, North Waziristan
Militant leaders killed: Unknown
Militants killed: 2-3
Others killed: Unknown
Source: AP, AFP, Reuters, Geo, CNN
Assumed target: Compound used by militants (UNCLEAR)

39. May 28, 2010
Location: Mizai Nari, 38 km west of Wana, South Waziristan
Al Qaeda/Taliban leaders killed: Unknown
Al Qaeda/Taliban killed: 8-11
Others killed: Unknown
Source: Dawn, Nation, Geo, CNN, Wash Post
Assumed target: Taliban compound (TALIBAN)

--. May 15, 2010Location: Ragha area, Tirah Valley, KhyberAl Qaeda/Taliban leaders killed: UnknownAl Qaeda/Taliban killed: 5-15Others killed: UnknownSource: AP, The News, Daily TimesAssumed target: House and trucks with militants (UNCLEAR)Note: the AP is the only wire service to report on this strike, so it is included here but not in any of the above tallies.

31. April 16, 2010

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2004-2007

Total Drone Strikes 2004 - 2010

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