Since 2004, US launched deadliest drone strikes in September

The Afghanistan-based American predators continued their drone strikes inside the Pakistani tribal agency of North Waziristan on Wednesday, launching their fourth attack in 24 hours and 12th in the current month, making September the most active month since the US began launching drone strikes in Pakistan in 2004.

The previous record for the number of drone strikes in a month was 11 in January 2010. The US launched a string of strikes last January in the aftermath of the suicide attack on an American combat outpost in Khost, Afghanistan, that killed seven CIA officials and a Jordanian intelligence officer.

The American predators have carried out 66 attacks inside Pakistan this year. The US drone planes fired missiles at a compound in Pakistan’s north-west region, killing a dozen insurgents on Wednesday.

The deadly drone attack, which was the third in less than 24 hours, was targeted in North Waziristan, a major sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban-linked terrorists on the Afghan border. 
Security analysts say the intensification in missile strikes, particularly in North Waziristan, could be linked to the delay by Pakistan in launching new anti-Taliban offensives in the tribal areas as it struggles to cope with the floods.

The Pakistani army has diverted more than 60 000 of its men for flood rescue and relief operations.