MIRANSHAH (Pakistan) - A SUSPECTED US drone aircraft fired two missiles into Al-Qaeda and Taleban targets in Pakistan on the Afghan border on Saturday, killing at least three people, intelligence officials said.

One missile hit a house while another struck a vehicle in the Khaisor area of North Waziristan's ethnic Pashtun tribal region.

'We have reports that three people have been killed. We are making further checks,' an intelligence official in the region told Reuters. It was third such attack this month.

This week, eight people were killed in a similar attack in neighbouring South Waziristan.

The United States began stepping up drone attacks in Pakistan last year. There has been no let-up since President Barack Obama's administration took office in January, despite complaints from the Pakistani government.

The United States has carried out about 40 drone air strikes since the beginning of last year, most since September, killing more than 320 people, according to a tally of reports from Pakistani security officials, district government officials and residents.

Pakistan says the drones violate its sovereignty and undermine efforts to deal with militancy because they inflame public anger and bolster militant support. -- REUTERS