Pakistani officials: U.S. missiles kill six

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Suspected U.S. missiles hit a house and car in a village in northwest Pakistan close to the Afghan border Thursday, killing at least six people, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The strikes occurred within minutes of each other in the North Waziristan region, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to brief the media.

Unmanned drones frequently fire missiles at suspected al-Qaida and Taliban militants on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border. The attacks have emerged as a major weapon in Washington's campaign against militants that are blamed for attacks in Afghanistan as well as plots against the West.

The officials said three missiles slammed into the house, killing four people. Two people were killed in the strike on the car. They did not identify the victims.

American officials do not publicly acknowledge the program or say who they are targeting.

Pakistani intelligence is believed to cooperate with the CIA in at least some of the attacks.

There were on average two attacks a week last year, the most intense period of strikes since the program began in earnest in 2008. Most of the strikes hit North Waziristan, one of seven tribal regions in the border area and the only one where the Pakistani army has not launched any operations.

Also Thursday, unidentified gunmen in southwestern Pakistan attacked and set alight two NATO oil tankers that were traveling to Afghanistan, local administrator Abdul Aziz said.

The tankers were attacked as they were heading to the border town of Chaman in southwestern Baluchistan province.

Islamist militants and criminals in Pakistan frequently attack trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO troops.

The supplies typically arrive in Pakistan's port city of Karachi and travel overland to Afghanistan.