(사진제공=AP통신)
[데라이스마일칸=AP/KNS뉴스통신] 파키스탄 정보부는 12일 미국의 무인 전투기로 의심되는 비행기가 12시간 사이에 두 차례에 걸쳐 파키스탄 북서부 지역의 가옥에 미사일을 발사해서 6명의 무장 반군이 살해됐다고 발표했다.
미국과 파키스탄 관계악화로 미 군사 원조액 3분의 1을 중단한다는 발표가 있은 직후에 일어난 두 차례의 공격으로 미국이 파키스탄과의 관계를 악화시킨 군사작전을 계속 수행하겠다는 의지의 표현으로 보여 진다.
11일 밤 미국의 무인 전투기가 아프가니스탄 국경에 인접한 마을을 공격하여 12명의 무장 반군이 사살했다고 파키스탄 정보부 관리가 밝혔었다.
미국은 파키스탄 북서부 지방에서 아프가니스탄으로 국경을 넘어가 나토군을 공격하는 아프간 무장반군에 대한 공격을 머뭇거리는 파키스탄 군부에 대해 불만을 갖고 있다.
파키스탄은 외국군의 철수 이후에 벌어질 아프가니스탄 내의 정치적 상황을 고려해 무장 반군에 대한 공격에 나서지 않고 있는 것으로 믿어진다.
미국은 파키스탄에서 무인 비행기 작전을 공식적으로 인정하지 않고 있으나 관리들은 사적으로 이 비밀작전 수행을 통해서 탈레반과 알카에다 고위 책임자들을 살해했다고 밝히고 있다.
미국과 파키스탄 관계 악화는 오사마 빈 라덴 사살이후 악화되어 미국의 군사원조 중단이라는 사태로 발전했다.
(영문기사 원문)
US drones strikes in Pakistan follow aid cut
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected U.S. unmanned aircraft fired missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing six alleged militants in the second such attack in less than 12 hours, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The strikes follow on the heels of the Obama administration's announcement that it was suspending more than one-third of U.S. military aid to Pakistan because of strained ties. The two attacks indicate the White House has no intention of stopping a program that has increasingly caused tension between the two countries.
The house that was hit by four missiles early Tuesday morning was located in Dremala village in the South Waziristan tribal area, said the intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. The village is located close to the border with North Waziristan.
On Monday night, a suspected U.S. drone fired missiles at a house in Gorvak village in North Waziristan, killing 12 alleged militants, said Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity for the same reason. The village is located very close to the Afghan border and is often used as a route for militants to cross into Afghanistan.
Pakistan's reluctance to target Afghan militants based in North Waziristan who stage cross-border attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan has been one of the main sources of tension with the U.S.
Pakistan says its troops are stretched too thin by operations in other parts of the country, but many analysts believe the government is hesitant to cross militants with whom it has historical ties and could be useful allies in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw.
In response, the Obama administration has dramatically increased drone strikes in North Waziristan over the past couple of years and has also hit areas in South Waziristan. The U.S. refuses to publicly acknowledge the covert CIA drone program in Pakistan, but officials have said privately that the strikes have killed senior Taliban and al-Qaida officials.
Pakistan is widely believed to have supported the strikes in the past, even though officials often criticize them publicly as a violation of the country's sovereignty. But that support has become less certain in recent months, especially following the covert U.S. raid that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden on May 2 in a Pakistani garrison town not far from Islamabad.
The raid humiliated the Pakistani military, which was not told about it beforehand. U.S. officials said they kept Pakistan in the dark because they were worried that someone would tip off bin Laden.
The relationship between the two countries has spiraled down since then, and President Barack Obama's chief of staff, William Daley, said Sunday that the U.S. was suspending more than one-third — or $800 million — of its military aid to Pakistan until the two countries can patch up their relationship.
김희광 기자 april4241@naver.com
