Interactive Map: U.S. Airstrikes in Pakistan on the Rise

March 5, 2009

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Read also: Threats, Options, and Risks in Pakistan, by Colin Cookman

Use the map below to explore the American air campaign in Pakistan. Click on a point or date on the timeline to see more information about strikes carried out in a particular location or point in time. Dates in red indicate strikes that reportedly killed “high-value” Al Qaeda targets. Large explosions show multiple strikes in a particular area.

Updated September 29, 2009

Notes on Sources

Information on these strikes was compiled from a Center for American Progress analysis of existing open-source reporting. Sources include the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Press, Dawn, the Daily Times, GEO TV, and secondary source reporting from the Long War Journal and the Jamestown Foundation, among others.

Because of the difficulties of reporting in the FATA, casualty estimates and details about those killed frequently come from the second-hand accounts from locals, U.S. or Pakistani intelligence official claims on background, and Taliban or Al Qaeda spokesmen. The contentious issue of civilian casualties is particularly subject to misreporting and misrepresentation. Distinguishing the combatant status of those killed, given these limitations, is not possible. While efforts have been made to account for the range of deaths claimed in reporting, these numbers remain, at best, approximations.

Similarly, many of the remote towns, villages, and camps in the FATA are not marked on publicly available map resources. Where identifiable, these locations are indicated on the map; if such information is not available, the strikes have been placed at the nearest-located major identifiable town or village.