A drone strike in the tribal region of Pakistan early Wednesday, killed four fighters, and according to Pakistani officials, one of those killed was the number two commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Waliur Rehman.
The strike comes six days after President Barack Obama vowed to curb the use of drone strikes, which have finished off many in the leadership of al Qaeda and the Taliban but also resulted in thousands of civilian casualties.
The Pakistani foreign ministry expressed concern over the strike, which came a few days ahead of when Nawaz Sharif, the incoming Pakistani prime minister, is expected to take power. Sharif has condemned the use of drone strikes in Pakistan and has demanded that they be stopped.
Wednesday’s strike is the first since Obama unveiled tighter rules governing the use of drone strikes, and while he said such strikes would become more rare in the future, it has been common knowledge in Washington that the CIA will continue to use the killer drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
