drone strike

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Soon, Drones Could Kill Without Human Guidance

Tests already under way for robot killers of the future

(Newser) - Could robots be the soldiers of the future? The Pentagon is currently working on drones that can identify—and will eventually be able to eliminate—targets without any human controlling them. The Washington Post details a demonstration last fall in which a pair of model-sized planes, working in tandem, located...

US Drone Strike Kills al-Qaeda's No. 2: Official

Atiyah Adb al-Rahman reportedly died in Pakistan on Monday

(Newser) - A CIA drone strike killed al-Qaeda's new second-in-command in a Pakistani tribal region on Monday, a US official says. The New York Times reports that Atiyah Adb al-Rahman, a Lybian national, became al-Qaeda's top operational planner this year and was part of a new generation of leaders poised...

China Scrambling to Build Its Own Drones

The rest of the world is eager to catch up to US

(Newser) - The showstopper at this year’s Zhuhai air show in China doesn’t need a pilot. Visitors were shown a video of the WJ-600 drone finding and transmitting targeting info on something that looked suspiciously like a US aircraft carrier near an island that looked suspiciously like Taiwan, the Washington ...

Is It Really Okay to Kill Terrorists With Robots?
Is It Really OK to Kill
Terrorists With Robots?
Eugene Robinson
Jul 1, 2011 11:38 AM CDT

Is It Really OK to Kill Terrorists With Robots?

Eugene Robinson worries that we've crossed an ethical line

(Newser) - The war on terror is increasingly being fought by robot assassins. President Obama has stepped up the use of drones to kill terrorists, taking out targets in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, and Libya. “I am convinced that this method of waging war is cost-effective but not that it...

CIA Launching Yemen Drone Strikes

Program modeled after Pakistan strikes

(Newser) - The CIA will soon begin launching drone strikes against al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, where months of unrest have left the political landscape in chaos. The CIA strikes will expand upon those carried out in the country by the US military since 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. While the Yemeni...

Pakistan: US Drone Strikes Kill 23

Two more missile strikes brings the week's total to five

(Newser) - A pair of US missile strikes hit a vehicle and an alleged insurgent training facility today in a tribal region near the Afghan border, killing 23 suspected Islamist militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The latest strikes bring this week's count to five, in the latest sign that the US...

Pakistan: 16 Killed in 3 US Missile Strikes

US drone strikes step up in Waziristan border region

(Newser) - Three missile strikes by US drones along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border today have killed 16 people, reports AP . The Waziristan strikes come just two days after another drone attack killed a top al-Qaeda commander . The sudden flurry suggests that the US has located other high-value Taliban or al-Qaeda targets—or that...

'Brain' of al-Qaeda Reported Killed in US Strike

Top jihadist Ilyas Kashmiri dead after drone attack in Pakistan

(Newser) - Looks like another top al-Qaeda leader has gone down: A US drone in Pakistan reportedly killed Ilyas Kashmiri, who is variously described as the "military brain" of al-Qaeda ( CNN ), a potential replacement for Osama in Laden ( AP ), and one of Pakistan's top militants (...

WikiLeaks Cables: Pakistan Urged Drone Strikes

Top newspaper publishes diplomatic cache

(Newser) - Pakistani officials didn’t just accept US drone strikes in the country—they pushed for them, according to WikiLeaks’ latest batch of US diplomatic cables. The cables, published in top Pakistani newspaper Dawn , detail a conversation between a US diplomat and top Pakistani official in which the official suggests the...

US Tried to Kill al-Qaeda's Awlaki in Yemen

Drone strike yesterday missed target

(Newser) - The US nearly had an ever bigger week against terrorism leaders: A drone strike in Yemen yesterday was meant to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born cleric who has emerged as a top al-Qaeda leader, reports the Wall Street Journal . The missile did not hit its target, US and Yemeni officials...

Heavy Shelling Continues in Misrata: Rebels

At least 25 dead, dozens wounded in latest round

(Newser) - Heavy fighting continues in Misrata despite claims by Libya’s government that the army has halted operations there , and at least 25 have been killed and 71 wounded in the latest round. Libya’s deputy foreign minister said early today that the army has not withdrawn from the city, but...

Deadly US Drone Attack Worsens Pakistan Tension

American strike kills at least 20 in North Waziristan

(Newser) - Pakistan has been pressing the US to ease off on its drone attacks, and the Pentagon made clear today it has no intention of doing so. A strike on an al-Qaeda haven in North Waziristan killed about two dozen people, reports the BBC , including at least five women and four...

Drones Could Usher in &#39; Terminator Reality&#39;
 Drones Could Usher in 
 'Terminator Reality' 
uk report
Apr 18, 2011 12:29 PM CDT

Drones Could Usher in 'Terminator Reality'

British Ministry of Defense urges caution in use of unmanned aircraft

(Newser) - As unmanned drones become more widely used, the British Ministry of Defense is concerned that we are on a path toward "a Terminator-like reality," it says in a new study. The use of unmanned aircraft raises serious moral and legal questions, and the report warns that we must...

2 US Troops Killed in Drone Friendly Fire

Military probing Afghanistan deaths

(Newser) - Two American servicemen were killed in Afghanistan last week in what is believed to be the first case of friendly fire deaths involving a Predator drone. The pair were killed by a Hellfire missile after Marines under fire called in a strike, military officials tell NBC. The Marines were viewing...

Pakistan Demands End to CIA Drone Strikes

US told to cut CIA, Special Forces personnel in Pakistan

(Newser) - The US-Pakistan alliance forged in the wake of the September 11 attacks appears to be on the verge of collapsing. Pakistan has demanded that the US halt its drone attacks on suspected militants, and sharply reduce the number of CIA and Special Forces personnel in the country, reports the New ...

Predator Drones Taking Out... Foot Soldiers?

One estimate claims 94% of those killed are low-level militants

(Newser) - As the CIA increases the number of drone attacks in Pakistan, more militants are being killed—but of those militants, few appear on a list of most-wanted terrorists. The number of noteworthy leaders being killed by the Predator strikes appears to be dropping, or barely increasing, year by year. Last...

Pentagon Presses for Special-Ops Raids in Pakistan

But some in administration fear political fallout will be too great

(Newser) - Frustrated US military commanders in Afghanistan are pushing for a series of Special Ops ground raids in Pakistan, sources tell the New York Times , in essence opening up a new front in the war. The raids would likely need approval from President Obama himself, and the wary administration fears political...

New Wave of Drone Attacks Scorch Khyber

Almost 60 killed in Pakistan

(Newser) - Nearly 60 people have been killed in Pakistan’s Khyber district in a sudden onslaught from CIA drones. Three strikes in the Tirah Valley killed at least 50, while another nearby killed seven more, the BBC reports. Security officials say all those killed were militants, but that hasn’t been...

CIA's Top Spy in Pakistan Forced to Flee

Terrorist threat leads to decision that could complicate war effort

(Newser) - The CIA’s top spy in Pakistan left the country yesterday, after a lawsuit blew his cover and terrorists threatened to kill him. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, accused the Islamabad station chief by name of ordering missile strikes that killed civilians. That name has been oft-repeated by Pakistani...

US Drones Hunt al-Qaeda in Yemen

US wary of Afghanistan-esque PR backlash, hasn't fired shots yet

(Newser) - In the wake of the failed Yemen mail bombs, the US is using a familiar weapon to hunt al-Qaeda in Yemen: The controversial Predator drone. Yet no shots have been fired thus far, reports the Washington Post, due to iffy intelligence on insurgents' whereabouts and American fears of re-creating the...

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