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The US killed a senior Taliban leader in one of three drone strikes that took place in the Pakistani tribal areas over the past 24 hours; he had identified himself as an al Qaeda leader and also was favored by the Pakistani state. A separate strike killed a commander in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan along with two Uzbeks.

Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Taliban in the Wazir area of South Waziristan, was killed by the CIA-operated Predators or Reapers in a strike in the Birmal area of South Waziristan, tribal leaders and Pakistani intelligence officials told Dawn. The remotely piloted drones fired a pair of missiles at a vehicle, killing Nazir; two of his deputies, Atta Ullah and Rafey Khan; a commander known as Rata Khan; and two other fighters.

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U.S. Drone Strike Kills a Top Pakistani Militant -- New York Times
Pakistan says US drones kill senior Taliban figure -- AP
Pakistan militant Mullah Nazir 'killed in drone attack' -- BBC
US drone strike kills Pakistan Taliban commander -- The Guardian
US drone kills senior Pakistan tribal leader -- Al Jazeera
US Drone Strike Kills Top Pakistani Militant -- Voice of America
Local Pakistani officials: U.S. drone strike kills at least 6, including militant commander -- Washington Post
2 drone attacks kill 15 in Pakistan -- CNN
US drone strike in Pakistan kills influential Taliban commander -- Christian Science Monitor
“Good Taliban” leader’s death a significant blow, Pentagon says -- E-Ring/Foreign Policy
Taliban's Mullah Nazir death spells trouble for Pakistan -- M Ilyas Khan BBC News

SANAA, Yemen — In the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden, Yemen – home to al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula – has come close to eclipsing Pakistan as a key focus of American counter-terrorism efforts.

In 2011, then-CIA director David Petraeus characterized the group as the “most dangerous node in the global jihad” and the American government’s action has appeared to echo the rhetoric. Notably, the number of American airstrikes in Yemen, largely carried out by unmanned drones, has surged over the past year, as much as tripling in frequency in comparison with 2011.

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My Comment: Blow-black is becoming a greater concern as these drone strikes continue .... unfortunately .... for the moment Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. is right when he is saying that drone strikes are the 'least horrible' choice in places like Yemen.

* U.S. carried out 333 drone strikes in Afghanistan in 2012, report says, up from 294 in 2011
* Controversial method of fighting uses remote pilots to operate aircrafts

The United States carried out more drone strikes in Afghanistan this year than it has done in all the years put together in Pakistan since it launched the covert air war there eight years ago, it has been revealed.

The statistics, published by the U.S. Air Force and published by Wired’s Danger Room blog, show that there were 333 drone strikes in Afghanistan in 2012 alone, up from 294 in the previous year and 278 in 2010.

It is far more than an estimated 338 strikes carried out by the CIA in Pakistan since it began hunting down remnants of al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas eight years ago.

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My Comment: Manned combat aircraft are still the norm .... but the trend is (slowly but surely) going the other way.