US drones strike northwest Pakistan two days running

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - A US drone struck a vehicle carrying suspected militants in Pakistan's volatile northwest on Thursday, intelligence and official sources said, a day after a US drone killed two suspected militants in the same area.

Thursday's attack took place in the tribal North Waziristan region, with two drone missiles hitting a car. At least three people were killed and two wounded, sources said.

The identities of those killed were not immediately clear.

Drone strikes stopped for months this year while Pakistan pursued ultimately fruitless peace talks with the Taliban but resumed four days before the military announced an anti-Taliban offensive in North Waziristan.

Drones, which are operated remotely, are key to the US policy of targeting militants holed up in inaccessible corners on the Pakistani-Afghan border. The then leader of the Pakistani Taliban was killed in one such attack in late 2013.