Fewer drone strikes in Pakistan, but Yemen is new target

US drone strikes against Islamist militants decreased in Pakistan’s tribal regions for the second year in a row but intensified in Yemen, according to figures compiled by the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. In Pakistan, 46 strikes were carried out in 2012, compared to 72 in 2011 and 122 in 2010. But Yemen saw an equally drastic increase in the clandestine attacks, with strikes against Al-Qaeda militants rising from 18 in 2011 to 53 in 2012. The US does not provide any information on the strikes, which are deeply unpopular in the Arab world. President Barack Obama, who has increased the use of drones compared to his predecessor, George W. Bush, only incidentally recognized their existence at the end of January in an online exchange.

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