Summary Four missiles hit the house in Heso Khel village on the edge of Mir Ali town.
MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike destroyed a compound in Pakistan s northwestern tribal belt on Thursday, killing at least four suspected militants, local security officials said.
Four missiles hit the house in Heso Khel village on the edge of Mir Ali town, around 35 kilometres (21 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in the district of North Waziristan.
"A US drone fired four missiles. At least four militants have been killed, the compound was completely destroyed," a security official based in Miranshah told AFP.
A senior Pakistani security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar confirmed the attack and added that the identity of those killed was not yet known.
Thursday s strike brings to 34 the number of people reported killed in Pakistan in five drone strikes since January 1.
The covert strikes are publicly criticised by the Pakistani government as a violation of sovereignty but American officials believe they are a vital weapon in the war against militants.
According to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, between 2,627 and 3,457 people have been reportedly killed by US drones in Pakistan since 2004, including between 475 and nearly 900 civilians.
