Two missile strikes by pilotless US drone aircraft today killed at least six militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan, a major al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctuary, intelligence officials and residents said.
US officials say the pilotless drones are one of the most effective weapons against militants.
The strikes have killed senior Taliban and al-Qaeda figures.
But they have caused resentment in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan, where anti-American feeling runs high.
The Pakistani government, an ally of the United States, wants the Americans to provide them with drone technology so the country's military can carry out its own strikes.
The first strike, made up of five missiles, targeted a militant compound and a vehicle in Mazoni village, about 10km west of North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah.
Two missiles were fired into Datta Kheil area, 40km west of Miranshah, in the second attack.
"The death toll may rise, but so far we have information that six militants were killed in both incidents," said an intelligence official in Miranshah.
While it insists on getting US drone technology, Pakistan has launched two major offensives in the northwest over the past year against homegrown Taliban militants who want to topple the US-backed government of president Asif Ali Zardari.
The military has scored major gains in the offensives in Swat Valley and in the South Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border, but insurgents have often bounced back with retaliatory attacks.
Last week, six bombings killed 81 people, challenging official assertions crackdowns had weakened militants.
A group of militants attacked a security checkpoint early today on the outskirts of Peshawar, the provincial capital of the North West Frontier Province, killing three paramilitary troops and two policemen, said police official Zubair Khan.
Reuters