U.S. Drone Strike Kills Four in NW Pakistan

A U.S. drone strike killed at least four militants and wounded two others in Pakistan's restive tribal region near the Afghan border on Sunday, security officials said.

The strike took place in the Khar Tangi area of Datta Khel district in the North Waziristan tribal region, where the Pakistani military has since June been battling militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaida.

"The drone fired two missiles targeting a compound, killing four terrorists and wounding two others," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

He added the compound belonged to loyalists of militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who leads his own faction in the region.

Another official who confirmed the strike said the identities of those killed in the strike were not known.

North Waziristan is one of the seven semi-autonomous tribal districts that border Afghanistan. It has been a hub for Al-Qaida and Taliban militants since the early 2000s.

The area is generally off-limits to journalists, making it difficult to independently verify the number and identity of the dead.

Washington pressed Islamabad for years to wipe out sanctuaries in North Waziristan, which militants have used to launch attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani military launched a major offensive in the district in June and says it has killed more than 1,560 militants so far, with 125 soldiers losing their lives.

A soldier was killed and another wounded when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near Datta Khel district on Sunday, a local security official said.