PESHAWAR: A suspected US drone strike in South Waziristan tribal region's Shawal area on Sunday killed at least five persons.

Official sources say the drone fired two missiles on a compound in Kand Ghar area of Shawal district, which stretches across both North and South Waziristan tribal regions.

Some local sources said that a high level target is among those killed in the attack but the identity is yet to be ascertained.

The drones reportedly hovered above the area for some time, causing panic and fear among the locals.

These details could not be independently verified since the media's access is severely restricted in the troubled region.

South Waziristan is among Pakistan’s seven tribal districts near the Afghan border which are rife with homegrown insurgents and are alleged to be strongholds of Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, among others.

The tribal region was once the main stronghold for the Pakistani Taliban. The military launched a large offensive against militants there in 2009 and an operation launched this year is currently underway, but insurgents still operate in the area and periodically stage attacks.

Drone attacks are widely unpopular across Pakistan and according to survey conducted in June this year, 66 per cent of the country's citizens oppose these strikes.

Also read: Pakistanis hate the drone war: The proof is in the data

On the other hand, there are some who believe the US drones were better weapons to use against militants as compared to Pakistan Air Force jets.

US drone strikes targeting various countries based on intelligence reports remain deeply unpopular as according to a survey, in 31 nations, at least half disapprove of the US conducting drone missile strikes targeting extremists in places such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.