US drone strike kills 15 militants in Pakistan

A US drone strike in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt killed 15 militants on Monday, destroying a vehicle and a compound in North Waziristan, local security officials said.

The strike took place in Mir Ali village, 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town of the North Waziristan tribal district, Pakistan's premier fortress of Al-Qaeda-linked militants near the Afghan border.

"At least 15 militants were killed in a US missile strike, which targeted a vehicle and a compound," a senior Pakistani security official told AFP.

"Four missiles hit the vehicle and two struck the compound," he added.

The identities of the dead were not immediately clear, but officials believed that most of them were Pakistani, rather than Afghan or Arab fighters.