Members of Jalaluddin Haqqani’s family and close relatives have been living in Dandi Derpakhel area since the start of the Afghan war. - File Photo

MIRAMSHAH/LADDAH: Ten militants were killed in US drone attacks on targets in North and South Waziristan on Thursday.

The attacks took place as Special US Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Marc Grossman, arrived in Islamabad and held talks with civilian and military leaders.

In the first attack, two missiles struck a compound in Dandi Derpakhel area near Miramshah in North Waziristan, early in the morning.

Official sources said a commander of the Haqqani network identified as Jamil and three other militants were killed. They said the drone fired missiles when Jamil came out of the compound.

Members of Jalaluddin Haqqani’s family and close relatives have been living in Dandi Derpakhel area since the start of the Afghan war. The group had set up a seminary in the area.

Another drone attacked an outpost of militants on a hill in Zeba mountains close to the Afghan border.

Sources said the militants were using the outpost to keep an eye on the movement of Nato and Afghan troops at their forward base in Machadad Kot area of Paktika province across the border. Two Afghan and four local militants were killed in the drone attack, sources said.

Agencies add: “Jamil Haqqani, an important Afghan commander of the Haqqani network was the target and was killed,” a Pakistani security official said, adding that Jamil was working as a coordinator of the network in North Waziristan.

The official said the three other militants killed in the strike were Haqqani’s fighters, guarding the commander in the compound.

Other officials said Jamil was not related to Jalaluddin, or his son Sirajuddin who now runs the network but that he was “very close to the top commanders, including Sirajuddin”.

Meanwhile, a US official on Thursday confirmed that a top Haqqani commander had been killed in a strike in Pakistan.

“It’s been confirmed that Janbaz Zadran, aka Jamil, was killed earlier today in North Waziristan, Pakistan,” the official said, adding that his death “makes him the most senior Haqqani leader in Pakistan to be taken off the battlefield.”