MIRAMSHAH, April 4 Thirteen people, two women and three children among them, were killed when a suspected US drone fired missiles at a residential compound in the Khaderkhel area of North Waziristan on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses said the pilotless plane fired two missiles at the house of a tribesman, Tariq Dawar, at about 3am, destroying the compound.Tariq Dawar teaches in a government-run school and is reported to have close contacts with local militant commanders.

This was the second missile attack in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas over the past four days. On Wednesday, a US drone attacked a house in the Orakzai tribal region, killing 12 people and injuring 13 others.

Local people said they heard two loud explosions before dawn. People rushed to the place to rescue the injured and retrieve the bodies from debris.

A tribesman said the place was littered with body parts and it was difficult to recognise the victims. He said that villagers collected body parts from rubble and put them into sacks for burial.

Tariq Dawar was not at his home at the time of the attack.

Sources said that some suspected foreigners were also staying at the compound, but a close relative of Tariq rejected the charge, saying that majority of the victims were women and children.

He said that 13 people, including two women and three children, were inside the house at the time of the attack.