Datta Khel airstrike The Datta Khel airstrike was an American airstrike carried out on 17 March 2011 in Datta Khel , North Waziristan that killed 44 people and led to widespread condemnation in Pakistan . Sherabat Khan Wazir , a top commander of Hafiz Gul Bahadur ' s Taliban faction , was killed in the strike , and in response Bahadur threatened to end the peace deal struck with the Pakistani government almost four years earlier . The airstrike was part of a long series of drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the CIA and United States military . It occurred just two days after " diyya " , a form of compensation paid to a victim ' s family under Islamic law , was paid for the release of U . S . CIA operative Raymond Allen Davis , signaling a resumption of U . S . activity after a several week hiatus while Davis ' pardon on murder charges was being negotiated . Attack . According to Pakistani intelligence officials , the attack targeted a compound where several dozen people believed to be Taliban militants linked to Hafiz Gul Bahadur were meeting . On 17 March 2011 , two or three missiles were fired within three minutes , killing at least 44 people and injuring around fifteen others . A security official in Peshawar said that the building that was attacked was used as a training location and meeting place for militants . A car that was transporting additional suspected militants near the location of the primary target was also fired upon . Of those killed , a Pakistani security official said that eleven Taliban personnel were killed in the attack , while the remainder were civilians . According to a local tribesman , however , the suspected militants were actually a group of tribal elders from a nearby village who were having a business meeting . The meeting was said to be regarding the disputed sale of a chromite mine in the area . The tribesman said that a commander loyal to Bahadur , Sharabat Khan , was present , but only because he was also a tribal elder . Khan was reported to have been killed in the attack . After the attack the Taliban faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur threatened to cancel the peace deal with Pakistani government to protest the governments inability to halt drone attacks . Reaction . General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani , the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army , issued a statement saying that the attack was " in complete violation of human rights " and that " such aggression against people of Pakistan is unjustified and intolerable under any circumstances . " Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani condemned the attack , saying that it would only strengthen the hands of militants . The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Syed Masood Kausar , also strongly condemned the attack , saying that civilians and policemen were killed . Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir asked the U . S . ambassador to Pakistan , Cameron Munter , for an explanation and an apology . After the attack , Pakistan said it would not attend talks with the United States on 26 March 2011 in Brussels to discuss the future of Afghanistan . The foreign ministry of Pakistan stated that " [ i ] t is evident that the fundamentals of our relations need to be revisited … Pakistan should not be taken for granted nor treated as a client state . " The US embassy in Pakistan refused to comment , saying it was not aware that such talks had been proposed . The attack came shortly after CIA contractor Raymond Allen Davis , who had been arrested on charges of killing two people in January , was released , and protests against his release were expected to intensify after the drone strike . Protests . Thousands of Pakistani protesters took to the street following the attack . The US Embassy in Islamabad and consulates in Karachi , Lahore and Peshawar were closed due to security concerns . Thousands of protesters gathered in the capital Islamabad , chanting " [ f ] riends of the US are traitors " , " [ d ] own with America " and " [ h ] ang Zardari . " In Miranshah more than a thousand locals collected and demanded compensation for the dead and an immediate stop to the drone attacks . Military . After the attack , the Pakistani Air Force increased air patrols of the northwestern tribal areas in Pakistan . It also cancelled holidays and breaks for officials in the region .