US drone-fired missiles has hit a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region near the Afghan border, killing eight people.
The attack occurred on Wednesday in Spalga village in the North Waziristan tribal area, said intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media. The identities of those killed were unknown, but the area is dominated by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a prominent militant commander focused on fighting foreign troops in Afghanistan.
The US does not publicly discuss details of the covert CIA-run drone program in Pakistan.
The program has caused tensions with Pakistan. Although the government is widely believed to have provided support for the strikes in the past, that co-operation has become strained as its relationship with Washington has deteriorated.
Pakistan kicked the US out of a base used by American drones last year in retaliation for American airstrikes that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani troops at two Afghan border posts on November 26.
The move is not expected to significantly impact drone operations, but the pace of strikes has slowed since the border incident as the US has tried to repair the relationship with Pakistan.
Pakistan also retaliated for the errant airstrikes by closing its Afghan border crossings to supplies meant for NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Pakistani Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said on Tuesday that the country should re-open the crossings after negotiating a better deal with the coalition.
He did not provide specific details. But other Pakistani officials have suggested that the government levy additional fees on the coalition for using the route because the heavy trucks damage roads.
The closure has forced the United States to spend six times as much money to send supplies to Afghanistan through alternative routes.
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