Drone strike kills four children in North Waziristan

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: A suspected drone strike killed four children and injured five others, including a woman, in Pakistan’s North Waziristan district on Monday, unleashing a wave of anger in a region long plagued by violence.

Residents and officials condemned the attack, as hundreds took to the streets demanding accountability.

The strike hit Hurmuz village in Mir Ali tehsil during daylight hours, Dawn newspaper reported. All four children killed belonged to the same family; some of the wounded, rushed to Mir Ali hospital, remain in critical condition. While quadcopters, small drones used for precision strikes, are deployed by both security forces and the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Outrage erupted swiftly. Residents, joined by tribal elders and children, staged a sit-in at Mir Ali Chowk, wielding placards denouncing drone strikes.

“The blood of innocent children will not go in vain,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Relief Minister Naik Muhammad Dawar wrote on social media, branding the attack a “crime against humanity.” He pledged to pursue justice “on every platform” and offer full support to the victims’ family.

Local authorities have opened an investigation. Tribal elders accused the government of failing to shield North Waziristan from a resurgence of bloodshed. They demanded an independent probe and vowed to sustain their protest until satisfied with the outcome.

North Waziristan, nestled along the Afghan border, has endured decades of militancy and military campaigns. Once a frequent target of US drone strikes, the area now faces a murkier threat from domestically operated quadcopters, blurring the lines between state and insurgent actions.