PESHAWAR: A drone strike in North Waziristan tribal region's Shawal valley area killed eight people and wounded two others on Sunday. This is the first drone attack of the new year in Pakistan.

Sources says that the drone targeted a compound belonging to an Uzbek commander of the Taliban's Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. The area which was hit is the Wacha Basti village near Alwara Mandi in Datakhel.

Sources added that a high-value target may have been killed in the strike but his identity could not be ascertained yet.

Fear and panic gripped the area as drones were seen flying above in the skies after the attack.

Shawal valley lies on the border of Pakistan's North Waziristan and South Waziristan tribal areaa.

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

Drone attacks are widely unpopular across Pakistan and according to survey conducted in June 2013, 66 per cent of the country's citizens oppose these strikes.