Mir Ali or Mirali () is a town in
North Waziristan District
North Waziristan District (, ) is a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . The capital city of North Wazirist ...
, in Pakistan's
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
province. Mirali is located in the
Tochi Valley
The Tochi Valley, also known as Dawar (from Middle-Persian, Middle Iranic dātbar, meaning "Justice-giver"), is a fertile area located in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. 2002. ''T ...
, about east of
Miramshah
Mīrānshāh ()() is a main town in the region that is the administrative headquarters of North Waziristan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Miranshah lies on the banks of the Tochi River in a wide valley surrounded by the foo ...
(capital of North Waziristan), west of
Bannu
Bannu (, ), also called Bani Gul or Bani (, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe and speak Banuch ...
,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
, and southeast of the city of
Khost
Khōst () is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram Agency, Kurram i ...
, Afghanistan. Mirali is at an altitude of .
The residents of Mirali are
Dawar
Alizai/Dawar () is a Karlani Pashtun tribe mostly inhabiting North Waziristan, with some settled in the Bannu District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The Dawaris inhabit the Tochi Valley and speak the Dawari dialect of Pashto.
D ...
and
Utmanzai Wazirs. The Wazirs reside in mountainous areas of North Waziristan such as Spinwam, Shawa, and Khiasur, while the Dawars reside in the plains on both sides of the Tochi River. Some well known villages of Dawars in Mirali area are Hassu Khel, Haider Khel, Mussaki, Idaak, Khaddi, Hurmaz, Zeraki, Hakim Khel and Daulat Khel.
History
The famous
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...
freedom fighter and tribal leader
Mirzali Khan
Haji Mirzali Khan Wazir (), commonly known as the Faqir of Ipi (), was a tribal chief and adversary to the British Raj from North Waziristan in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
After performing his ''Hajj'' pilgrimage in 1923, Mirzali ...
(the Faqir of Ipi) based his movement in Ipi, a village on the outskirts of Mirali, for more than 10 years. In 1938, Mirzali Khan shifted from Ipi to
Gurwek,
Waziristan
Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...
.
Abu Yahya al-Libi
Abu Yahya al-Libi (, ; January 1, 1963, Marzaq – June 4, 2012), born Mohamed Hassan Qaid, was a terrorist and leading high-ranking official within al-Qaeda, and an alleged member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.New York TimesRisin ...
, the number two at the time of
Al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
, was killed by a
drone strike
Drone warfare is a form of warfare using Military drone, military drones or Military robot, military robots. The robots may be Telerobotics, remote controlled or have varying levels of Autonomous robot, autonomy during their mission. Types of ro ...
carried out by the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
on June 4, 2012 in Mirali.
On December 30, 2021, a
gunfight
A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...
during Pakistani troops' raid against a hideout of
Tehrik-i-Taliban
The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...
terrorists in the city, killed four people.
On August 11, 2024, heavy exchange of firing between
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
and the militant insurgents of the outlawed
Pakistani Taliban
The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...
was reported.
Notable people
*
Mirzali Khan
Haji Mirzali Khan Wazir (), commonly known as the Faqir of Ipi (), was a tribal chief and adversary to the British Raj from North Waziristan in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
After performing his ''Hajj'' pilgrimage in 1923, Mirzali ...
*
Tahir Dawar
Mohammad Tahir Khan Dawar (; ) was a Pakistani police officer who was abducted from Islamabad on 26 October 2018 and then tortured and killed. His body was found on 13 November 2018 by the locals in the Dur Baba District of Nangarhar Province, ...
*
Noor Islam Dawar
Noor Islam Dawar (; ; died in 2021) was a Pashtun human rights activist from North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He was an activist in the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), as well as the chairman of a civil society organization, Youth ...
See also
*
Battle of Mirali
The Battle of Mirali was a bloody military engagement occurred between 7 October and 10 October 2007 and involved Taliban , Taliban militants and Pakistani soldiers around the town of Mirali, Pakistan (North Waziristan, North Waziristan), the s ...
*
Abu Laith al-Libi
Abu al-Layth al-Libi (; 1 January 1967 – 29 January 2008), born Ali Ammar Ashur al-Raqiai, was a Libyan militant who was a leader of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan who appeared in several al-Qaeda videos. He was believed to have been active in the tri ...
*
Abu Obeida Tawari al-Obeidi
In late January 2008 the CIA launched missiles from unmanned aerial vehicles at a house in North Waziristan where they believed a militant summit was taking place.
''The Bureau of Investigative Journalism'' reported that this was the first drone s ...
*Target Killing
References
{{Commons category, Mir Ali, Pakistan
External links
Missile strike emphasizes al-Qaida problemMSNBC
MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
February 1, 2008
U.S. strikes in Pakistan — without noticeMSNBC
MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
February 18, 2008
Populated places in North Waziristan
Waziristan