Pakistan's Terror Groups May Be Proliferating Faster Than Drones Can Take Them Out.

Drone strike casualty estimates as of November 18, 2013. (Courtesy New America Foundation) .

The Taliban’s Hydras -- Bill Roggio, The Daily Beast

A drone strike killed another top leader of the influential, al Qaeda-affiliated Haqqani network—but the terror group may be proliferating faster than drones can take them out.

Yesterday's drone strike in Pakistan's northwestern district of Hangu that killed a top Haqqani Network leader is a major tactical win for the U.S., but in the absence of a comprehensive strategy to deal with al Qaeda-linked jihadist groups in the region, it will serve only to disrupt the organization in the short term.

The CIA-operated Reapers killed Maulvi Ahmed Jan, a top deputy in the al Qaeda-allied Haqqani Network, and two other commanders in an airstrike on a seminary in the settled district of Hangu. The hit was remarkable because U.S. drones rarely stray outside of the designated kill boxes of Pakistan's tribal areas, particularly the tribal areas of North and South Waziristan, where a host of jihadist groups operate unfettered. Of the 352 strikes recorded by The Long War Journal since the drone program began, 95 percent have taken place in the two tribal agencies. Only four of the remaining strikes occurred outside of the tribal areas; the last was in March 2009.

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My Comment: For a better understanding on the many terror groups that make Pakistan their home .... the Council on Foreign relations has a good summary here.