MIRAMSHAH A US missile strike Sunday killed six militants in Pakistans northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border, officials said.

The Pakistani Taliban said Tuesday they would continue to target Pakistani security forces with suicide attacks in revenge for the US drone strikes.

“We are targeting Pakistani security forces because the government has allowed America to launch drone attacks on us,” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Azam Tariq told AFP by telephone.

The latest drone attack hit Newey Adda village in the Datta Khel area near Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district, they said.

“A US drone fired two missiles. The target was a house used by militants as a compound. Six militants were killed,” a senior security official in Peshawar told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

Another intelligence official in Miramshah confirmed the attack and the death toll, while a third intelligence official said there were two “guests” among the dead - a term used for foreign militants.

The area is a renowned hub for Taliban militants and Al-Qaeda-linked rebels.

Residents said six bodies had been dug from the rubble. Some injured people were taken to an unknown location for medical treatment.

Intelligence officials said there were two Arab fighters among the dead in the latest attack, while they were seeking more information about nationalities of the other militants killed.

Last week, a total of 24 militants were killed in four US drone strikes in 24 hours in the same tribal district. - AFP