NORTH WAZI­RIS­TAN: Four children were killed and five others, including a woman, injured in a suspected quadcopter munitions drop in Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan district on Monday.

Sources told Dawn that the drone strike took place in Hurmuz village during day time, leaving four children of the same family dead and five others, including a woman, injured.

The incident caused panic in the area. Locals shifted the injured to the Mir Ali hospital. Sources said some of the injured were in critical condition.

Both security forces and outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan are known to have been using quadcopters.

Area people, including tribal elders, youth and children later took to the streets after the incident and staged a sit-in at Mir Ali Chowk against the suspected quadcopter strikes. Some of them also carried placards inscribed with slogans against drone strikes.

In a statement posted on social media, KP Minister for Relief Naik Muhammad Dawar condemned the attack and said the blood of innocent children would not go in vain.

He said the attack was a crime against humanity and they would raise voice against it on every platform. He said they would also make all-out efforts to ensure that the culprits are brought to book.

The KP minister said that they stood with the affected family and would extend every kind of support to them.

While local authorities were investigating the incident, there was no official statement from the federal government on the matter.

On the other hand, local elders termed the casualties a failure on part of the government, as North Waziristan was being targeted again.

They demanded an independent commission to probe the attack.

They vowed to continue their sit-in till they were satisfied with the outcome of the investigations.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2025