Stepping up their hunt for Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists, two US drones today targeted militant compounds killing 15 Taliban extremists in the country's lawless northwest, as Pakistani forces captured 28 militants, including two commanders.

"Missiles from a US drone hit a house of a local Taliban commander Irfan Mehsud killing 12 militants and wounding another eight," local officials were quoted by 'ARY' TV channel as saying.

This was the fifth major strike by US drones on South Waziristan region this month in a covert operation that top US officials are considering intensifying.

It was not immediately clear if Irfan was among those killed in the strike in the house in Sararogha area. The commander was a close associate of slain Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

The local officials said two missiles hit the compound and the causalities included foreign militants, including Uzbeks. US drones also continuously overflew both the South and North Waziristan for the whole day creating panic in the area, the channel said.

In the evening, three persons, believed to be Afghans, were killed in a fresh drone attack in Dandy Darpha Khel in north Waziristan.

Three persons were killed and as many injured in the attack in Darpha Khel, which is near Miran Shah, the main twon in north Waziristan.

The new attacks followed last Friday's American strike which targetted a house of Afghan Taliban warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani killing 12 militants.

Since August last year, US has mounted 60 drone strikes on the Pakistan's restive northwest killing more than 550 militants.

The missile strikes came as Pakistani security forces intensified ground operations in nearby Swat Valley and other parts of Malakand division capturing 28 militants, including two Taliban commanders, an army statement said.

Sixteen rebels voluntarily surrendered, it said.

Local militant commander Umer Nawab was captured at Charbagh in Swat, while security forces apprehended commander Raza Khan, a mastermind of several bomb attacks, in Buner district.

Raza Khan was also allegedly involved in attacks on convoys of security forces. He was taken to an unknown location for questioning, TV channels reported.

The army, which is in the process of rounding off operations in Dir, Swat and Buner, captured three suspects at Alam Ganj while four suspects were held at Pinidar Banda and 15 rounded up at Palai. Four suspects were captured during an action in Charbagh.

Sixteen militants surrendered to security forces at different places in Swat, including Bar Shaur, Runial, Dagai and Sirsanai.