A serious incident involving a quadcopter drone attack on a security forces post in Spinwam Tehsil, North Waziristan, has emerged amid escalating tensions with the Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Although no group has officially claimed responsibility, multiple indicators point toward TTP’s use of drone technology in the operation.
Earlier this year, Pakistani officials acknowledged the TTP had developed rudimentary quadcopter-based drones capable of carrying explosives—albeit in a limited capacity—marking the first time UAVs were confirmed as part of insurgent tactics in the region . Observers and security officials have reported several such attacks in North Waziristan, particularly around Mir Ali, Miranshah, and adjacent tribal areas .
On February 25, 2025, an ambush in the Darweshta area of Spinwam resulted in four security personnel being killed and two wounded during a direct gunfight with militants; three attackers were also reported killed . A separate 2024 operation in Spinwam cost five soldiers their lives, including a lieutenant colonel, while neutralizing several TTP terrorists .
Multiple recent attacks—through at least eight separate drone or quadcopter strikes—have already targeted security posts and convoys in Bannu and surrounding regions, occasionally ending in civilian casualties. Authorities have acknowledged the heightened threat posed by this emerging tactic .
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A blog post from local outlet Khyber Chronicles explicitly refers to a TTP-operated quadcopter drone misfiring and striking a civilian residence instead of its intended military target, killing children—a development that aligns with reported spinwam-style methodology .
Taken together, these reports indicate that the TTP is increasingly looking to unmanned aerial vehicles as tools of asymmetric warfare—a troubling evolution in tactics with serious operational and humanitarian implications.