U.S. drone strike reported in Pakistan, ending 5-month pause
http://www.latimes.com/world/afghanistan-pakistan/la-fg-us-drone-militants-pakistan-ending-pause-20140611-story.html
U.S. drone strike reported in Pakistan, ending 5-month pause
Zulfiqar Ali, Shashank Bengali
June 11, 2014
A U.S. drone aircraft struck suspected militants in Pakistans tribal areas on Wednesday, breaking a five-month pause in the attacks, Pakistani security officials said.
Officials said the unmanned aircraft fired two missiles, hitting a car and a house in the North Waziristan tribal area Wednesday evening.
It marked the first strike by the CIA-run U.S. drone program in Pakistan since Christmas, according to the independent New America Foundation, which tracks the incidents. The strikes, which peaked at well over 100 in 2010, have dramatically decreased due to Pakistani opposition and tighter Obama administration guidelines on their use.
The strike came less than two weeks after U.S. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held captive by the Taliban in North Waziristan, was freed in a prisoner exchange. His release has raised the prospect that the U.S. might increase the pace of drone attacks against the Taliban and the Haqqani network, the allied militant group that held Bergdahl.