The alleged planner of the Peshawar school massacre has been killed in a shootout, a Pakistani official has said.

The commander was killed on Thursday night in the hour-long gunfight with security forces in the restive Khyber tribal area, which borders the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.

The militant was known only as Saddam. His six accomplices were injured and arrested in the shootout, said Shahab Ali Shah, head of the local police administration.

Authorities are currently interrogating the six, he said.

On 16 December, Taliban militants strapped with explosives broke into a military-run school in Peshawar, and killed 148 people, including 132 children.

The attack shocked the nation and led Pakistan to crack down on militants.

According to authorities, Saddam helped plan the Peshawar school attack and was also involved in attacks on health workers giving polio vaccinations in the Peshawar valley.

Meanwhile, drone attacks in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region killed at least seven alleged militants on Friday.

The attacks, targeting a region that is a Taliban stronghold, were believed to have been carried out by US drones.

Drone strikes are largely unpopular in Pakistan, where many consider them a violation of the country's sovereignty and resent the collateral damage caused to Pakistani civilians.

But the US insists these attacks are effective to eliminate militants in areas inaccessible to the Pakistani military.