168 Pakistani kids killed by US strikes

A new report reveals the non-UN sanctioned US drone strikes have killed up to 168 children in Pakistan over the last seven years.

Research by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found that CIA drone attacks on Pakistan's tribal belt have led to far more deaths than previously mentioned. It says just over four percent of the nearly 2,900 people killed in the drone attacks have been militants. It reports the CIA has carried out 291 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004 -- a figure eight percent higher than in previous research. Over 80 percent of all strikes have been carried out under President Barack Obama administration. This breaks down to one strike every four days.

Washington claims its air raids target militants who cross the Pakistani border into Afghanistan to help the Taliban fight US-led foreign forces. However, locals say civilians are the main victims of the non-UN-sanctioned attacks. A recent report by the Brookings Institution says the illegal strikes have taken the lives of 10 civilians for every militant killed.

Islamabad has repeatedly condemned the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty, asserting that such attacks have proved counterproductive in US-led war against terrorism. The United Nations says the US-operated drone strikes in Pakistan pose a growing challenge to the international rule of law. Philip Alston, UN special envoy on extrajudicial killings, said in a report in late October 2010 that the attacks were undermining the rules designed to protect the right of life. Alston also said he feared that the drone killings by the US Central Intelligence Agency could develop a "playstation" mentality.

Chris Woods: The US has killed more than 168 children in Pakistan - Drone War Exposed – the complete picture of CIA strikes in Pakistan. The Obama administration has come to rely heavily on CIA drone strikes to attack alleged militants in the country’s western tribal areas. To date, at least 236 drone attacks have been ordered in Obama’s name. CIA drone strikes have led to far more deaths in Pakistan than previously understood, according to extensive new research published by the Bureau. More than 160 children are among at least 2,292 people reported killed in US attacks since 2004. There are credible reports of at least 385 civilians among the dead. In a surprise move, a counter-terrorism official has also released US government estimates of the numbers killed. These state that an estimated 2,050 people have been killed in drone strikes – of whom all but an estimated 50 are combatants.