PESHAWAR: At least four suspected militants including a local Taliban commander were killed in yet another US drone strike in Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan Agency on Saturday night raising the toll from a series of attacks this week to 29.

Intelligence sources said that a US drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in Maraga area of Shawal tehsil of the troubled North Waziristan Agency bordering Afghanistan. Four suspected militants including a commander have died in the strike, they added.

Sources also said that the Taliban commander has been identified as Mustafa, who they claimed belonged to Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.

The incident, however, could not be independently verified as access of journalists is restricted in the area.

US drone strike kills four suspected militants on Pak-Afghan border

Earlier in the day, a US drone strike had killed four suspected militants and left several others injured on the Pak-Afghan border area near Khyber Agency’s Tirah valley.

Official sources said that the drone targeted militant hideouts in the Cancharo Kandoa area on the Afghan side.

The village is right on the zero-line but the area which was targeted falls under the Afghan jurisdiction.

The identity of the dead militants is yet to be ascertained.

Khyber and North Waziristan are among Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous regions governed by tribal laws and lies near the Afghan border. The Taliban and other al Qaeda-linked groups, who stage attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, are known to have strongholds in the zone.

The Pakistani military launched a major anti-militant offensive, Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan in June and say they have killed more than 1,000 so far, with 86 soldiers losing their lives in the operation.

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.