By IRNA,
Islamabad : The US drone aircraft on Monday night rained missiles on suspected hideout of Pakistani Taliban chief in South Waziristan tribal region, TV channels reported.
Reports said that 12 people were killed in the strike on a house at Mantoi area of South Waziristan.
Express TV said that the target compound was the hideout of chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Hakimullah Mehsood.
There was no report whether Mehsood was in the compound at the time of the attack.
Another report said the drone struck the compound of another Taliban commander, Adam Khan.
It was the second US drone strike in the same region on Monday.
In a strike earlier in the day, at least eight people were killed in South Waziristan tribal area.
The pilotless aircraft fired four missiles at a vehicle in Wana, the center of South Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan.
The identities of those killed were not immediately known, but security forces said that militants were targeted in the strikes.
Data shows that the US drones have carried out around 40 attacks in the tribal regions, killing over 300 people.
Pakistan has stepped up drone strikes in the tribal regions in recent days despite protest by the government.
The parliament last month adopted a unanimous resolution condemning the US drone strikes and calling for halt to the attacks.
The parliament has asked the government to block supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan through Pakistan if the drone strikes were not stopped.
Opposition groups say that the government has reached some secret understanding with the US for the strikes.
Several former army generals allege that the US drone aircraft are also taking off from Pakistani air bases. The charge denied by the government.
The CIA has refused to stop the strikes as the US officials say the attacks are important to eliminate the al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, who they say launch cross border attacks from Pakistani territory.