Miranshah (Pakistan): An unmanned drone aircraft launched a missile after coming under fire from the ground in Pakistan's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan today, killing one militant, officials said.

The incident in Makeen, in the insurgency-hit South Waziristan tribal region, comes just days after an airstrike by US-led coalition forces based in Afghanistan that Pakistan said had killed 11 of its troops.

"A drone was flying in the area of Makeen and extremists tried to hit it with a rocket-propelled grenade," a local security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The place from where the RPG was fired was struck by a missile fired by the unmanned drone killing one suspected militant," the official said.

The Pakistani military and international forces in Afghanistan were not immediately available for comment.

Makeen is the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who is in peace talks with the government despite having been accused in December of masterminding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

Several missile strikes in the tribal belt this year have been attributed to the US-led coalition, killing a number of people.

Pakistan protested on Wednesday after saying that a coalition artillery and air strike had killed 11 Pakistani soldiers in the Mohmand tribal region.

US officials have said the coalition was legitimately targeting militants but has offered to conduct a joint investigation with Pakistan.

Source : PTI