At least three suspected militants were killed in an alleged United States (US) drone strike on Thursday targeting a militant compound in Afghanistan's Paktia province near the Pak-Afghan border, officials said.

The Paktia provincial governor's spokesperson Abdullah Asrat said the drone strike took place on Afghan soil, in the Patan district. He also gave a higher death toll, saying that seven militants were killed, including two commanders, and that two were wounded.

According to two Pakistani intelligence officials, the unmanned drone fired two missiles at the Ghaznavi compound of the Haqqani network's commander Abdur Rasheed. The network is affiliated with Afghan Taliban.

It was unclear if Rasheed was at the compound at the time of the strike, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The compound is located on the Pesho Ghar mountain in the Kurram tribal region's Ghuzgari area.

The border separating the two countries zigzags across a remote and difficult mountain terrain.

Pakistan is building a fence along the boundary to halt the cross-border movement of militants but Kabul, which does not recognise the Durand Line as an international border, has objected to the fence as a land grab by Islamabad.

Pakistan opposes the drone strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and claims it has eradicated militant sanctuaries.

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