Nearly half of Pakistan drone victims civilians: TBIJ

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) has said 323 of those identified are reported to be civilians, including 99 children.

The TBIJ database shows that at least 2,342 people have lost their lives in the CIA killer drone attacks in the northern tribal areas of Pakistan since 2004.

However, anti-drone campaigners in Pakistan have criticized the recent TBJI report, saying it has understated both the overall casualty figure and the civilian deaths in Washington’s drone raids.

The airstrikes have angered the Pakistani people and officials, triggering massive anti-US rallies across the Asian country.

Islamabad has on numerous occasions condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty, but the raids continue unabated.

Washington claims the targets of the drone attacks are militants, but local officials and witnesses maintain that civilians have been the main victims of the attacks over the past few years.

The United Nations and several human rights organizations have identified the US as the world’s number one user of “targeted killings,” largely due to its drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The US carries out targeted killings through drone strikes in several Muslim nations such as Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia.

HK