Pakistani officials said the US aircraft fired at least one missile into a vehicle as it left a village in North Waziristan, a stronghold of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Haqqani network fighting against US troops in Afghanistan.

The US drone programme targets Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the lawless northwest tribal belt, which Washington calls the global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous region on earth.

"The US drone fired one missile, which hit a vehicle. According to our reports, three militants were killed," a Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Local officials put the death toll at four, saying the drone targeted a vehicle carrying militants just as they were leaving Tabi Ghundi Kala village.

"It was a drone attack. Two missiles were fired into the vehicle. Four militants were killed," said a local security official.

The identities of the dead were not immediately clear, nor was it known if they were high-value targets.

Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud has been a prime target of the drone attacks and US and Pakistani officials increasingly believe he was killed in a January strike in the northwest, although the Taliban insist he is alive.

US drone attacks in North Waziristan have increased since Mehsud appeared in a video alongside a Jordanian Al-Qaeda double agent claiming responsibility for a suicide attack on CIA agents across the border in Afghanistan.

The December 30 attack at a US base in Khost province killed seven CIA employees in the deadliest attack on the US spy agency in 26 years.

Monday's attack struck around 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the border with Khost, in a known stronghold of Afghan warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who is reputed to control up to 2,000 fighters whom attack US troops in Afghanistan.

It came one day after a similar attack killed seven militants at an Islamist training compound in North Waziristan.

Washington is pressuring Islamabad to dismantle militant border sanctuaries, and US missile strikes in the region have soared since US President Barack Obama put Pakistan at the heart of his fight against Al-Qaeda.

The Pakistan government publicly condemns the strikes saying they violate the nation's sovereignty, but analysts say Islamabad gives tacit approval to its US ally for the raids.

More than 780 people have been killed in the US strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, and American officials say they are a vital tool in the battle against militants and have killed a number of high-profile targets.

Mehsud's predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, who founded Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), blamed for the deaths of thousands of people in Pakistan, was killed in a US drone strike in August last year.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News