Strike targets Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud's car
A drone strike targeting a vehicle used by Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud has killed five people, intelligence sources say.
Four missiles were fired on the vehicle in the Dande Darpa Khel area of North Waziristan. Two of Mehsud's bodyguards were reportedly among the dead.
Mehsud has a $5m FBI bounty on his head and is thought to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.
Pakistan's PM Nawaz Sharif has urged US President Obama to halt drone strikes.
Hakimullah Mehsud has been leader of the Pakistani Taliban since 2009, after his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike.
Hakimullah had come to prominence in 2007 as a commander under Baitullah, with the capture of 300 Pakistani soldiers adding to his prestige among the militants.
The attack targeting him comes on the same day that the Pakistani government announced it was about to send a delegation to North Waziristan to try to get peace negotiations with the Taliban under way.
Mr Sharif had pledged to talk with the Taliban to try to end its campaign of violence, which has left thousands dead in bombings and shootings across the country.
In an interview with the BBCtwo weeks ago, Mehsud said he was open to "serious talks" with the government but said he had not yet been approached.
The attacks by unmanned US aircraft have been a critical source of tension in the relationship between the countries and came up amid wide-ranging talks between Mr Sharif and Mr Obama in Washington last week.
They are also deeply unpopular with the Pakistani public, and Pakistan has consistently stated that they violate its sovereignty.
Last week an American newspaper said it had obtained secret US documents revealing that senior Pakistani government officials have for years known of and endorsed CIA drone strikes.
Four missiles were fired on the vehicle in the Dande Darpa Khel area of North Waziristan. Two of Mehsud's bodyguards were reportedly among the dead.
Mehsud has a $5m FBI bounty on his head and is thought to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.
Pakistan's PM Nawaz Sharif has urged US President Obama to halt drone strikes.
Hakimullah Mehsud has been leader of the Pakistani Taliban since 2009, after his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike.
Hakimullah had come to prominence in 2007 as a commander under Baitullah, with the capture of 300 Pakistani soldiers adding to his prestige among the militants.
The attack targeting him comes on the same day that the Pakistani government announced it was about to send a delegation to North Waziristan to try to get peace negotiations with the Taliban under way.
Mr Sharif had pledged to talk with the Taliban to try to end its campaign of violence, which has left thousands dead in bombings and shootings across the country.
In an interview with the BBCtwo weeks ago, Mehsud said he was open to "serious talks" with the government but said he had not yet been approached.
The attacks by unmanned US aircraft have been a critical source of tension in the relationship between the countries and came up amid wide-ranging talks between Mr Sharif and Mr Obama in Washington last week.
They are also deeply unpopular with the Pakistani public, and Pakistan has consistently stated that they violate its sovereignty.
Last week an American newspaper said it had obtained secret US documents revealing that senior Pakistani government officials have for years known of and endorsed CIA drone strikes.
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