The strike in North Waziristan came after the head of US and NATO troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, urged Pakistan's army chief on Friday to quickly start a military offensive against militants in the same tribal district, according to the New York Times.

The strike targeted Inzarkas village, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, which lies by the Afghan border.

"The missiles struck a militant compound in the village," a senior Pakistani security official in the area told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another security official confirmed the strike and casualties but said the nationalities of those killed were not yet known.

"The compound became suspicious as it was being used by foreigners," he said. "It was, however, not immediately known if any high-value target was present in the area at the time of attack."

Pakistani officials use the term "foreigners" for Al-Qaeda linked militants operating in the tribal regions.

US forces have been waging a covert drone war on the northwestern tribal belt, where militants have carved out havens in mountainous areas outside direct government control. More than 900 people have been killed in over 100 drone strikes since August 2008.

Waziristan has come under renewed scrutiny due to suspected links between the area and Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American arrested and charged with the attempted bombing of New York's Times Square on May 1.

According to the US authorities, Shahzad, the 30-year-old son of a retired Pakistani air force officer, admitted to receiving bomb-making training in Waziristan. US media reports said Shahzad's family knew at least two key Pakistani militants involved in terrorist activities.

However Pakistani army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said a link between Faisal Shahzad and Waziristan had "yet to be established".

Top US officials warned Pakistan after the failed Times Square car bombing that it must crack down on Islamic militants or face severe consequences, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

Citing unnamed US and Pakistani officials, the newspaper said McChrystal met Pakistani military commander General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Islamabad on Friday and urged Pakistan to quickly begin a military offensive against the Pakistani Taliban and Al-Qaeda in North Waziristan.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Pakistan, in remarks published Friday, that it faced "very severe consequences" if a terror plot like the Times Square bombing were traced to the country, although she also acknowledged Pakistan's increased cooperation against terrorism.

North Waziristan is a fortress of Al-Qaeda, Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, and the affiliated Haqqani network, set up by Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani and now effectively run by his ambitious son Sirajuddin.

The militants in the area are believed to be fuelling the nearly nine-year insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan.

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