PESHAWAR – A fresh wave of suspected militant drone attacks struck residential areas in North Waziristan and Lakki Marwat, leaving at least one civilian reportedly dead and several houses damaged, as banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) continues to carry out explosive-laden quadcopter strikes in KP.
The latest incidents sparked fear among local communities, raising concerns over the growing use of weaponised drones against civilian populations in the province’s volatile southern and tribal districts.
According to local residents, at least six quadcopter drone attacks were launched overnight on Harmuz village in Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan, with the strikes blamed on militants associated with the outlawed TTP. The repeated explosions reportedly damaged several residential buildings, leaving families terrified as their neighbourhood came under attack.
The strikes may have caused higher civilian casualties, however authorities contained damages in the terror-hit region neibouring Afghanistan.
Another tragedy was reported from Lakki Marwat, where a separate suspected quadcopter attack struck a residential house. According to local reports, a man identified as Yaseen was killed when an explosive-carrying drone allegedly targeted his home. His death has been reported by multiple local outlets, although independent official confirmation remains unavailable.
The incidents shows increasingly alarming security threat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where militants are reportedly using commercially available quadcopters modified to carry explosives, potentially allowing attacks on residential properties and other targets from the air.
The reported strikes are not isolated. Earlier incidents across North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat have demonstrated the dangers posed by weaponised drones, with civilians, including children, previously suffering casualties.
Earlier this year, drone attacks in Lakki Marwat injured several children, while a separate quadcopter strike in October caused panic near a mosque, although no casualties were reported in that incident.
The latest attacks renewed concerns that militant groups are expanding their tactics beyond roadside bombs, ambushes and conventional armed assaults to include aerial surveillance and explosive drone operations.
Security concerns are also growing over the possibility of militants receiving technical assistance from across the border, although the source of any such support in these particular incidents has not been independently established. The ability to modify relatively inexpensive commercial drones into explosive-carrying platforms presents another challenge for security agencies, particularly in remote areas where conventional ground-based protection may not be sufficient.
For residents of North Waziristan and Lakki Marwat, the reported attacks have brought the threat directly to their homes, raising urgent questions about the safety of civilian communities already affected by years of militancy.
