US Cuts Back Drone Strikes as Pakistan Talks to Taliban
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United States has cut back sharply on drone strikes in Pakistan after the Islamabad government asked for restraint while it seeks peace talks with the country’s Taliban.
A US official, quoted in the Washington Post, told the paper: “That’s what they asked for, and we didn’t tell them no.”
The newspaper said that there had been a lull in such attacks since December, the longest break since 2011.
The newspaper meanwhile said that the Obama administration indicated it would continue carrying out strikes on senior al-Qaeda officials if they were to become available or to thwart any immediate threat to Americans.