Five militants killed by US drone in Pakistan say officials

Miranshah, Pakistan // A US drone strike on a militant compound early today killed five insurgents in northwest Pakistan's lawless tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said.

"The drone fired two missiles on a house in Hassokhel town," 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, a security official said.

"So far five bodies have been recovered from the compound, which is ringed by militants."

Two other officials confirmed the attack, saying the casualties may go up.

Washington considers Pakistan's semi-autonomous northwestern tribal belt the main hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.

North Waziristan is a stronghold of the Haqqani network -- Afghan insurgents blamed for a series of spectacular attacks on Western targets in Kabul -- and Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

Islamabad has been resisting US pressure to launch a sweeping offensive against militants in the area.

Today's drone strike came after one on Wednesday that killed four militants in the same region, and followed a summit of NATO alliance leaders in Chicago earlier this week.

Pakistan says the missile attacks are counter-productive, violate its sovereignty, kill civilians and fuel anti-US sentiment.