Islamabad - A missile believed to have been fired by US forces killed at least five militants in Pakistan's lawless region near the Afghan border on Tuesday, intelligence officials said. The attack took place at around 9:30 am (0330 GMT) in the South Waziristan tribal district, a known hotbed of al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
"One missile fired from a drone destroyed a Taliban centre in the Sararogha area, killing three militants," an intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.
Only the US forces and the American Central Intelligence Agency are operating armed drones from Afghanistan to eliminate Taliban targets on both sides of the border.
Among the killed were three local Taliban and two Uzbek nationals linked to al-Qaeda.
The official said the raid critically wounded seven other militants, adding that the death toll might increase.
It was not immediately clear whether the strike targeted any high-profile militant leader, according to another intelligence official in the region.
The assault came as Pakistani security forces are believed to be preparing for a major offensive in the district, a stronghold of the slain Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.
Mehsud was killed in a US airstrike on the house of his in-laws early August. His close aide, Hakimullah Mehsud, has now taken up the reins of the Taliban movement in Pakistan.
Pakistan officially opposes the US drone attacks inside its territory, but analysts say such raids could not be carried out without intelligence sharing between Washington and Islamabad.
