At least six people have been killed in US drone strikes in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region near the border with Afghanistan and the southern regions of war-torn Yemen.

A drone strike claimed the lives of a pair riding a motorcycle in Pakistan’s Kurram Agency, located in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the country’s lawless tribal areas, on Thursday, reported a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official added that it was not yet clear who the victims were.

“A drone missile struck the motorcycle, which caught fire and then exploded,” said Haji Zamin Hussain, a village elder from the area, without giving more information.

The area is said to be home to militants from both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban militant groups as well as the al-Qaeda terrorist group.

The US has been conducting drone strikes in several countries. The aerial attacks, initiated by former US President George W. Bush in 2004, were escalated under former President Barack Obama.

The US claims the airstrikes target members of al-Qaeda and other militants, but according to local officials and witnesses, civilians have also been the victims of the attacks in many cases.

A file photo shows two freshly assembled US drones as they sit on a base in Logar Province, Afghanistan. (By AFP)

Meanwhile, two US drone strikes killed at least four people, suspected to be al-Qaeda members, in the Yashbum Valley in Yemen’s southern province of Shabwah.

A separate drone strike also hit an area in the eastern parts of the Shaqra town in the southern province of Abyan. However, there were no immediate reports of possible casualties from the latter strike.

The drone attacks in Yemen have continued alongside the Saudi military aggression against Yemen.