Pakistani troops, Taliban militants fight over downed U.S. drone

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By Karin Brulliard and Haq Nawaz Khan, Updated: Sunday, September 18, 12:02 PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistani troops battled Taliban militants Sunday morning to win control of the remnants of an CIA drone that crashed in the nation’s borderlands, according to Pakistani security officials.

The cause of the crash of the unmanned Predator drone, which the CIA uses to fire missiles at Taliban and al-Qaeda hideouts in the rocky region bordering Afghanistan, remained in dispute hours after it was downed in Zangarha village in South Waziristan. A military intelligence official based in the nearest city, Wana, said the drone suffered a mechanical failure. The Pakistani Taliban, a domestic offshoot of the Afghan insurgent organization, said its fighters had shot it down.

Pakistan’s restive tribal belt is a no-go zone for journalists and outsiders, making it impossible to verify the accounts of the crash. U.S. officials do not publicly acknowledge or discuss the covert drone program, and the CIA declined to comment Sunday on the crash reports. The Pakistani security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

But if true, the crash would be among very few in the seven-year history of the drone campaign in Pakistan, and it could risk the exposure of extremely sensitive technology, including cameras and other sensors used to monitor insurgents. While the Taliban might have little tactical use for the debris, some of Pakistan’s allies – including Iran and China – might be interested in it.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/war-zones/pakistani-military-and-taliban-militants-fight-over-downed-drone/2011/09/18/gIQABO6VcK_story.html