Six suspected militants in Pakistan killed by US drone aircraft

Peshawar: A unmanned US drone aircraft killed at least six suspected militants and wounded four others on Tuesday in a remote area of northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, officials said.

Pakistani security officials and tribal sources said attackers hit an suspected militant compound in Dattakhel, a village in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

"The drone fired two missiles and struck a house which was believed to be in use of the foreign militants," a local tribal leader said. He asked not to be identified for security reasons.

American drone strikes have targeted al Qaeda and other Islamist militants in Pakistan's northwestern border region for years, but there have been fewer strikes in recent months.

In 2015 so far, there have been at least 12 drone strikes in addition to Tuesday's, according to the British-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism. There were 25 drone strikes in 2014, according to the organisation.