US drones fired off a volley of missiles targeting Al-Qaeda linked fighters in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan today, killing at least twelve. Security officials said the pre-dawn attack — the third in less than 24 hours — was directed at the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based group which is one of the toughest foes for foreign forces in neighbouring Afghanistan. The attack took place in the village of Dargah Mandi village on the outskirts of Miranshah, the main town in the troubled North Waziristan tribal district where US missiles killed 15 militants in two separate attacks on Tuesday. Residents said there was panic in the village as the noise of drones was heard just before dawn. A fresh surge in US missile strikes has killed 69 militants since September 3 in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, which Washington has branded a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous spot on Earth. With Pakistan struggling to cope with devastating floods that have hit 21 million people in the country's worst humanitarian disaster, Islamist militant violence has picked up in recent weeks with a wave of major bombings. The Taliban last week threatened Pakistani security forces with more suicide attacks to avenge US missile strikes, which have become a key tactic in the US-led fight to reverse the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.