PESHAWAR: A US drone strike in a troubled Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border on Sunday missed its target - a militant vehicle - allowing rebels to flee, local security officials said.

The missile strike took place in Azam Warsak town, 20 kilometres west of Wana, the main town of the South Waziristan tribal district, where the Pakistani military launched an operation against militants in 2009.

“US drones first fired two missiles targeting a militant vehicle but they failed to hit, allowing rebels, who were said to be over four in number, to run away,” a senior security official told AFP.

He said that two more missiles fired from a drone hit the vehicle but failed to destroy it.

Another security official in the area confirmed the strike, adding that at least four of the unmanned aircraft had been flying in the area on Sunday morning.

He said that identity of militants on board the vehicle was unknown.