US unmanned drone aircraft carried out a series of missile attacks in Pakistan's tribal region along Afghan border, killing at least six militants, intelligence officials said Saturday, dpa reported.
Three attacks within five minutes at midnight Friday targeted the vehicles and compounds of the suspected Islamist insurgents in three villages, separated by few kilometres in Kurram tribal district, a known hotbed of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.
An intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that two missiles hit two vehicles at 11:30 pm in Shaheedanoon Dand village.
"The vehicles were on patrolling duty. Three militants died in the attack," the official said.
Two minutes later, a missile struck a compound in Badshah Kot, demolishing the parts of the building. Casualty information in that bombing was not yet available.
At 11:35 pm, another drone attack damaged a compound and nearby mosque in Taaloo Ganj area and killed three people.
A second intelligence official confirmed the attacks and said that all those killed were the members of the Haqqani network, a militant group lead by Afghan Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani.
The group is mainly based in neighboring North Waziristan district but has hideouts in Kurram agency, which borders Afghanistan's Khost province. The Haqqani network is believed to be responsible for deadly attacks on NATO-led international forces in Afghanistan.