ISLAMABAD: US drone strikes killed a prominent Taliban warlord who sent insurgents to fight Nato troops in Afghanistan along with 13 other militants in Pakistan’s tribal belt, local officials said on Thursday.

Mullah Nazir was killed with several key terrorists in three drone strikes in the South and North Waziristan, the officials said. He is one of the highest-profile drone victims in recent years.

A predator fired two missiles at a vehicle killing six people in the Sar Kanda area of Birmil in South Waziristan.

Officials confirmed killing of Nazir along with five of his companions near Wana. “Mullah Nazir and five associates died on the spot,” one of the officials told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another Pakistani official said Nazir, believed to have been in his late 30s, was targeted as he prepared to swap vehicles after his pick-up developed a mechanical fault. Two of his influential deputies, Atta Ullah and Rafey Khan, were among those killed, the official added.

Nazir, who the main commander in South Waziristan, was seriously wounded in a suicide attack on Nov.29.