MIRAMSHAH, Feb 14 Four foreigners and three local militants were killed in a US drone attack on a house near Mirali town in North Waziristan on Sunday.

According to official sources, the house of a man, Khanadan Khan Dawar, said to be a collaborator of militants, was attacked in Zoor Babar Eidek village at about 3.30pm. The drone fired two missiles at the house.

Local people said seven bodies had been pulled out of the debris. An official said four foreign militants were among the dead but their nationality had not been verified.

The sources said that some people had taken the bodies to an unspecified place.

Agencies add “We have sent our team to assess the situation and get details. It's a remote area and the communications system is bad,” an official told AFP.

He confirmed the casualties and said the dead included “four foreigners, possibly Uzbeks”. Pakistani officials usually use the term “foreigners” to refer to Al Qaeda-linked militants.

A local government official said the targeted compound was used for training insurgents. A car was also destroyed in the missile attack.

A barrage of US drone strikes hit Pakistan's northwest tribal belt in January, most concentrated around Miramshah.

On February 2, a swarm of US drones fired a large volley of missiles at an extremist stronghold in North Waziristan, killing at least 16 militants, but there had been a lull in such raids since then.

More than 780 people have been killed in the US strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, and American officials say they are a vital tool in the battle against militants and have killed a number of high-profile targets.

Sunday's two-missile strike was on a militant compound, said security officials, adding that there was no information about the identity of those killed.