ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A suspected U.S. drone strike Thursday in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region killed a Taliban commander and al-Qaida operative, local officials said.
The strike, the second in two days in the region, targeted the suspected compound of Badar Mansoor, 35, the militant leader who was killed, in Miram Shah, the Los Angeles Times reported.
CNN had reported earlier four people had died in the strike.
Pakistani intelligence sources said Mansoor was an al-Qaida operative who led a faction of the Pakistani Taliban. The Times said he was believed to be from Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, and was responsible for bringing numerous Punjabi militants to Taliban camps in North Waziristan.
A similar strike Wednesday in the same region killed 10 suspected militants.
U.S. officials have said North Waziristan is a hideout for militant groups who launch attacks on NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.
The drone strikes resumed after a lull following a NATO airstrike in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
That incident led to further deterioration of U.S.-Pakistan relations and Islamabad closed two of its land routes to transport supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Efforts have been under way since then to improve relations.
CNN quoted a Pakistani military statement as saying representatives from NATO and the Pakistani and Afghan militaries met Wednesday at the border coordination center to "discuss and improve coordination measures on the Pakistan and Afghanistan border."
