US drone attack killed eight in North Waziristan, sources said here today. Sources said that a US drone fired missile on the hideout of defunct Tahrik-e-Taliban at Turikhel area in village Mirali of North Waziristan. Sources further said that eight persons were killed as a result of the drone attack in Turikhel village. At least four militants were killed and another four were injured early on Monday when a US drone fired missiles at a Taliban target in Pakistans border region. According to intelligence officials, the target was a four-wheel drive vehicle being driven near Mir Ali, the second largest town of the northern part of Waziristan region which borders Afghanistan. There was speculation that the victims might include important militant commanders. This attack seems to be one of the more intense ones carried out in some time, said one intelligence official in Peshawar. Our understanding is that more than one missile was fired which raises the possibility that the first one may have missed its target and more missiles were fired to make certain that the target was eliminated. Last month, Baitullah Mehsud, leader of Pakistans Taliban movement, was killed in a similar missile attack believed to have been carried out by a US drone. Mr Mehsud was suspected of being linked to a number of high profile terrorist attacks in Pakistan which made him one of Pakistans most wanted militants with a $5m price tag on his head. He was investigated for the 2007 assassination of Pakistans former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and last years attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. In public, Pakistans civil and military leaders protest the use of drones by the US. But western diplomats say that these attacks, especially those targeting major leaders like Mr Mehsud, have the approval of Pakistans ruling establishment in private. Protesting in public is a necessity because the Pakistani public deeply disapproves the use of American drones. But in private, the Pakistanis know that these drones serve a useful purpose, a US official speaking from Washington recently said. On Monday, interior ministry officials in Islamabad said they were close to capturing or killing Maulvi Fazlullah, the de facto commander of the Swat Taliban. In a related development late on Sunday, Rehman Malik, Pakistans interior minister, said that Pakistan would soon capture the remaining high profile Taliban militants still on the run following the militarys campaign in the northern Swat valley. This followed the weekend arrest of five prominent Taliban militants including Muslim Khan, the Swat Talibans main spokesman. Your fate is the same as other fellow terrorists, Mr Malik warned militants. You are not far away [from the security forces].