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It wasn't immediately clear who was behind Monday's attack in
Mir Ali, which has been a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban,
and there was no comment from the army.
“We are not blaming anyone, but we want justice, and the
government should tell us who killed our children,” local tribal
elder Mufti Baitullah said.
He warned that the protest, currently staged at one regional
roadblock, could expand if authorities fail to answer.
“We will not bury the bodies until we are told who is
responsible for killing our innocent children,” he said, as
people chanted “we want justice.”
There have been civilian casualties in military strikes in some
parts of the country in recent years. In March, 11 people,
including women and children, were killed when a drone attack
targeted a house in the northwestern city of Mardan.
A statement by the provincial government at the time had only
said that there was "collateral damage" in an operation that was
conducted to target militants in a remote village. Residents in
March also rallied until the government agreed to compensate the
victims' families.
Abdullah Khan, the managing director of the Pakistan Institute
for Conflict and Security Studies think tank, said Tuesday that
militants also have been using quadcopters to target troops, but
it still was unclear who was responsible for the drone attack in
Mir Ali.
The latest civilian casualties came amid ongoing military
operations against the Pakistani Taliban, which have a strong
presence in Mir Ali, a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are
a separate insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban, and they
often target troops in the region.
Nayak Muhammad Dawar, a provincial minister, condemned the
attack in a statement Tuesday. He said that investigations were
ongoing.
Mir Ali and nearby districts located near Afghanistan were long
a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups. The
TTTP have stepped up attacks in the region in recent months.
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Rasool Khan contributed to this report.
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