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PESHAWAR: US missiles killed 18 militants in Pakistan’s tribal district of South Waziristan on Monday, destroying compounds and a vehicle in the deadliest drone strikes for months, officials said.

Three strikes were reported just days after Pakistani officials said they believed senior al Qaeda commander Ilyas Kashmiri had died in a similar attack late Friday, also in South Waziristan which borders Afghanistan.

Washington has called Pakistan’s semi-autonomous northwest tribal region the most dangerous place on Earth and the global headquarters of al Qaeda.

The first strike killed seven militants in the early hours in Shalam Raghzai, 10 kilometres northwest of Wana, the district’s main town.

A second slammed two missiles into a compound in Wacha Dana, 12 kilometres northwest of Wana, killing eight militants, Pakistani officials said.

The third struck the Bray Nishtar area, which lies on the border with North Waziristan at 10:45 am, about 30 kilometres from the site of the other two raids and about eight hours later.

“A US drone fired two missiles on a militant vehicle killing three rebels,” a senior Pakistani security official told AFP of the third attack.