Suspected US spy drones fired missiles on Sunday into an alleged militant compound in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, killing at least seven people, security officials said.
The air strike in South Waziristan - a known hub of al Qaeda and Taliban activity - was the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani soil that have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington.
The strike targeted a compound about 20 kilometres (12 miles) north-east of Wana, the main town in the tribal zone, they said. "Initial reports say at least seven people were killed in the missile strike, which destroyed the facility," a senior security official told AFP.
Meanwhile, Gunmen shot dead the brother of Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in a north-western town on Sunday, police said.
Yahya bin Haroon was abducted by armed men from his home town in Bannu district early Sunday morning and his bullet ridden body was later found dumped in a roadside drain, senior police officer Mohammad Alam Shinwari told AFP.
He received five bullets to his head and back, the officer said.
Police later identified the slain man as the brother of Mehsud, who leads the country's umbrella Taliban organisation, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Shinwari said. The reason for the murder was not immediately clear, he said.
Residents said Yahya, 35, was not involved in Taliban activities and people opposed to Mehsud may be involved in the killing of his brother.
Police said his body was handed over to his family members for burial in South Waziristan area bordering Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, troops Sunday killed nine Taliban militants in separate clashes in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, security officials said. The clashes in Bajaur region came a day after the military announced it had recaptured an al Qaeda and Taliban stronghold in the area after two months of fighting which left 1,500 rebels and 73 soldiers dead.
In one incident, insurgents attacked a security post on the outskirts of Bajaur's main town of Khar. Troops retaliated, killing six Taliban. Three more fighters were killed when troops attacked a suspected militant base in Charmang district, another security official said. Requesting anonymity, he said two militant vehicles were also destroyed in shelling by military helicopters.
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