Islamabad, Dec 26 (IANS): At least four suspected militants were killed and several others wounded late Wednesday in a US drone strike at a compound near Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal agency of Pakistan, a leading Pakistani daily reported.

The drone fired two missiles at the compound in Qutab Khel village, five km of Miramshah, killing four suspected militants, The Dawn quoted a security official as saying.

The identities of those killed in the strike were not immediately known but officials suspect that they were of Afghan origin.

North Waziristan is one of seven semi-autonomous regions in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) governed by tribal laws.

The region is chiefly off-limits to reporters because of security worries and government restrictions.

An extremist insurgency led by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) plagues the region, known to be a stronghold of militants including those from Al Qaeda.

Pakistani government has been criticising US drone strikes against militants as a violation of sovereignty and counterproductive to anti-terror efforts.