A US drone attack on a militant compound in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal district killed eight insurgents on Sunday, security officials said.

The unmanned aircraft fired two missiles on the compound in Shawal district, 50 kilometres southwest of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district, near the Afghan border, they said.

The strike destroyed the house and triggered a fire,” an official said.

“It was difficult to identify the bodies immediately as some of them were charred,” he said.

Washington considers Pakistan’s semi-autonomous northwestern tribal belt the main hub of Taliban and al Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.

A similar attack in the region on Tuesday killed five militants. (Agencies)