Drone ‘kills Taliban chief in Pakistan’

The officials say agents sent to the site of the attack in the North Waziristan tribal area on Friday confirmed the death of the militant leader, Hakimullah Mehsud.

The missile strike hit the village of Dande Derpa Khel in North Waziristan, two intelligence officials told The Associated Press. They said the strike, near the town of Miran Shah, hit a house.

The officials said the village is the stronghold of the Haqqani network, which routinely targets Nato troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The missile strike is the second since Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the US last month when he pressed for an end to the drone strikes. Most Pakistanis consider them to be a violation of sovereignty.

US officials have suggested in the past that the Pakistan government does privately support some of the strikes, which hit militants in tribal regions its army has trouble controlling.