PESHAWAR, Pakistan, June 29, 2010:Suspected U.S. missiles hit a house Tuesday in a Pakistani tribal region along the Afghan border where the army has been battling Taliban fighters.Six suspected militants have been killed by missiles fired by a US drone in Pakistan’s tribal belt.

The missiles targeted a house in Karikot village near Wana, the main town in South Waziristan district.The house belonging to a militant commander, Maulana Halimullah, has been destroyed, an official said.

Waziristan is a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan. The area has seen frequent US drone raids.Pakistani officials say the US has carried out at least 70 such raids since January.

Pakistan publicly criticises the attacks, saying they fuel support for militants.But observers say the authorities privately condone the strikes.In one high-profile attack last August, Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed.

Pakistan has denounced the missile campaign as a violation of its sovereignty. But it is widely believed to secretly assist in at least some of the strikes.The U.S. rarely discusses the campaign publicly.

One of the most significant victories in the U.S. missile campaign came last August, when one of the drone-fired missiles that hit South Waziristan killed Baitullah Mehsud, chief of the Pakistani Taliban network.

But despite losing ground, militants have shown the ability to bounce back and have carried out a wave of bomb and suicide attacks, killing hundreds of civilians and security personnel, mostly in the northwest.