BANNU: At least seven militants were killed in a US drone attack targeting a Pakistani Taleban compound near the border with Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said, the latest such strike since Islamabad began a major offensive in June.

The incident took place in the Lawara Mandi border village, some 60 kilometers west of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district where the Pakistani military has been fighting to wipe out longstanding bases of Taleban and other militants.

US drone strikes have picked up since the military offensive in Waziristan after a near six-month hiatus. Since June 12 five drone strikes have been reported in the tribal areas by Pakistani officials.

“A drone fired two missiles at a compound in Lawara Mandi and at least seven militants were killed,” a senior security official in the region told AFP. The official said the dead included local and foreign militants.

Local intelligence officials said that some Uzbeks and members of the Haqqani network were also among dead.

Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal areas on the Afghan border have for years been a hideout for militants of all stripes — including Al-Qaeda and the homegrown Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP) as well as foreign fighters such as Uzbeks and Uighurs.

Washington pressed Islamabad for years to take action to wipe out sanctuaries in North Waziristan, which militants have used to launch attacks on NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan.