MIRAMSHAH, Aug 18: Six people were killed and two others injured when a US drone fired missiles at a compound in Shawal area of North Waziristan on Saturday.

Sources said the attack took place in Shuwedar, some 65 kilometres from Miramshah, near the Afghan border.

Two missiles slammed into the compound, damaging a vehicle in the courtyard.

Officials said that six people in the compound died.

The injured were taken to an unidentified place.

Names and nationalities of the deceased could not be ascertained.

The name of the owner of the compound also could not be verified.

AFP adds: The attack was the first since Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam, chief of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), held talks with his CIA counterpart in Washington earlier this month in which drone strikes were said to have been discussed.

“US drones fired two missiles into a militant compound. Six bodies have been recovered from the compound so far,” a security official said.

Residents and local intelligence officials confirmed the attack and the casualties. The missiles destroyed a car parked at the compound, they said.

It was the third drone attack since the start of Ramazan and it took place as some people were celebrating Eid in the area.

It was not immediately clear if the missiles targeted any senior militant leader.

MINISTRY STATEMENT: The foreign ministry protested the latest strike, saying in a statement that Islamabad “has consistently maintained that these attacks are a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.