Pakistani soldiers patrol during a military operation against Taliban militants in the main town of Miranshah in North Waziristan

AFP

Pakistan's military says its anti-militant offensive in a northwestern tribal area has now taken control of 80 percent of a strategic town, as a US drone strike on Thursday killed six suspected insurgents.

The armed forces have been waging a long-awaited assault on North Waziristan for the past three and a half weeks to eradicate hideouts militants have used to launch attacks across the restive nuclear-armed country.

The army says it has retaken most of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan which had been under effective militant control for years.

Journalists including AFP reporters were taken on a rare trip to Miranshah on Wednesday to see the aftermath of the operation, which began on June 15 with air strikes and artillery bombardment and continued with nine days of ground assault.

The once-bustling town is now virtually deserted, the rubble of countless bombed-out buildings strewn across the dusty streets.

Apart from soldiers, only dogs and donkeys roam the ruins, picking through the wreckage for scraps of food.

 Drone strike

Adding to the pressure on militants, two US drones fired four missiles into a compound in Doga Macha Madda Khel, a village close to Datta Khel town, local security officials said.

The village lies 35 kilometres (22 miles) west of Miranshah.

A local security official told AFP that Thursday's drone strike had killed four foreign fighters and two local cadres who had fled Miranshah before the launch of the offensive.

"The compound and a vehicle parked inside were completely destroyed and killed at least six militants," the official told AFP.

Doga Macha Madda lies in difficult, mountainous terrain which the official said the militants had hoped to use as cover.

Another security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar, confirmed the attack and the casualties.

It is the third round of drone strikes to hit northwest Pakistan since the US resumed the campaign following a six-month hiatus.